I-Corps L: Product Realization 2.0 - Multidisciplinary Technology Entrepreneurship Capstone Course

University Of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee WI

Investigators

Abstract

This project at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) aims to develop a sustainable and scalable model for transforming engineering capstone/senior design courses into an experiential multidisciplinary technology entrepreneurship capstone course, Product Realization 2.0 that is strongly coupled with co-curricular or extra-curricular student entrepreneurial programs (campus wide) and powered by regional industry partners. The Product Realization course was initially designed to give students real world, project-based experience while offering industry sponsors access to engineering talent and innovative solutions. This project will explore whether or not stakeholders (including students and sponsors) will find value in a structure that trains students and exposes industry sponsors to a broader set of entrepreneurial thinking skills. The project is moving towards a course that will have the following key curricular elements: (a) customer discovery and lean launch, (b) design thinking, and (c) product design with an emphasis on low-resolution prototyping and multiple iterations. The course would have to have another dimension: professional development for sponsor-mentors. We will explore various levels of mentor engagement and training, ranging from straightforward project management processes to incorporating mentors into a teaching team. The Product Realization course can contribute significantly to innovation in engineering and multidisciplinary education, will promote new curricula and pedagogy, and will provide a platform for engaging students and sponsors in a different way. The product has potential appeal to regional industry and can connect with an innovation and entrepreneurship experiential curriculum at UWM. Through various innovation networks, such as the I-Corps Site regional network of five universities, the National Innovation Network, Pathways to Innovation Network and University Innovation Fellows Network, the proposed model can be scaled up nationally.