Strategies for Engaged-Student Learning Innovation and Curriculum Enhancement in Undergraduate Engineering Education

George Washington University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

Social innovation (strategies for meeting societal needs), when combined with entrepreneurship (launching of new businesses), can potentially energize and strengthen civil society. The wide-ranging social impacts of engineering projects on everyday life speak to the altruistic desire of many people to make a difference in the world. By combining this altruism with economic advancement opportunities through entrepreneurship, more students are likely to consider engineering as a career. This project aims to create a comprehensive roadmap for increased engagement of engineering students through an innovative combination of social innovation and entrepreneurship. A one-day workshop will use a discovery process to identify the current and potential practices in this area. The workshop will include key stakeholders such as professional engineers from industry, engineering faculty, students, psychologists, cognitive scientists, curriculum development experts, entrepreneurs, and local government officials. During the workshop, the project team will facilitate discussions on approaches to integrating service learning and social innovation into existing engineering curriculum, as participants share their experiences in implementing similar engagement-enhancing initiatives. The workshop will feature brainstorming sessions and presentations centered on four themes: 1) Rethinking Engineering Education - focuses attention on the transformations that have taken place in the last decade in engineering education; 2) Emerging Frontiers and Trends in Student Engagement Strategies - participants will brainstorm and discuss potential opportunities for social innovation within the community; 3) Mechanisms for Integrating Service Learning and Social Innovation - attention will be focused on how to best meet community needs while serving experiential and entrepreneurship learning goals; and 4) Towards a Way Forward - participants will synthesize the highlights and lessons learned from the workshop to develop a roadmap for increased student engagement. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.