Micro-Credentialing of Entrepreneurship Education in a Practice-Based Undergraduate Engineering Context

Abstract

This article presents a case description of the design decisions, delivery methods, and assessment framework for an entrepreneurship micro-credential in a newly developed practice-based engineering degree, which was codesigned with industry partners who called for the integration of innovation, proactivity, and creativity (i.e., characteristics of entrepreneurship) into engineering education. Students undertake the micro-credential via online and face-to-face modules. Assessment is competency-based, requiring students to apply the theoretical knowledge provided in the micro-credential to an industry-based project. By participating in the micro-credential, it is expected that students will have a better understanding of how products and services can address customer needs, and how opportunities for product and service enhancement can create opportunities for growing the offerings of engineering. Several insights into the strengths, limitations, and design considerations for entrepreneurship micro-credentials in an engineering education context are outlined in addition to suggestions for improvement.

Keywords

entrepreneurship education university education micro-credentialing engineering education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Beanland

Hadgraft

(2013) Engineering education: Transformation and innovation, Melbourne, Australia: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Bosman

Fernhaber

(2017) Teaching the entrepreneurial mindset to engineers, Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing doi:10.1007/978-3-319-61412-0.

Coddington, A., & Mann, L. (2017). Generating an architectural brief for a twenty-first-century engineering education working and learning environment. In Proceedings of the Australian Association of Engineering Education 2017 Conference (pp. 955–962). Sydney, Australia: Australian Association of Engineering Education.

Cook, E. (2018, June 26–29). Mathematical competencies and credentials in a practice-based engineering degree. In Proceedings of the 19th SEFI Mathematics Working Group Seminar on Mathematics in Engineering Education (pp. 147–151), Coimbra, Portugal. Retrieved from http://sefi.htw-aalen.de/Seminars/Coimbra2018/Proceedings_SEFIMWG2018.pdf#page=147.

Cook, E. J., Mann, L. M. W., & Daniel, S. A. (2017). Co-designing a new engineering curriculum with industry. In 45th SEFI Annual Conference (pp. 303–310). Retrieved from https://www.sefi.be/wp-content/uploads/SEFI_2017_PROCEEDINGS.pdf.

Department of Education and Training. (2018). Contextual research for the Australian qualifications framework review. Retrieved from https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/contextual-research-australian-qualifications-framework-review.

Froyd, J. E., Wankat, P. C., & Smith, K. A. (2012). Five major shifts in 100 years of engineering education. Proceedings of the IEEE, 100 (Special Centennial Issue), pp. 1344–1360.

Greene

F. J.

Saridakis

(2008) The role of higher education skills and support in graduate self-employment. Studies in Higher Education 33(6): 653–672.

Hoppe

(2016) Policy and entrepreneurship education. Small Business Economics 46(1): 13–29.

10.

Hoppe

Westberg

Leffler

(2017) Educational approaches to entrepreneurship in higher education: A view from the Swedish horizon. Education + Training 59(7/8): 751–767.

11.

Hynes

Costin

Birdthistle

(2010) Practice-based learning in entrepreneurship education: A means of connecting knowledge producers and users. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning 1(1): 16–28.

12.

King

(2008) Engineers for the future: Addressing the supply and quality of Australian engineering graduates for 21st century, Sydney, Australia: Australian Council of Engineering Deans.

13.

Kolb

A. Y.

(2005) Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning and Education 4(2): 193–212.

14.

Kolmos

de Graaf

(2014) Problem-based and project-based learning in engineering education. In: Johri

Olds

(eds) Cambridge handbook of engineering education, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, pp. 141–161.

15.

Lee

Kreiser

P. M.

Wrede

A. H.

Kogelen

(2018) University-based education and the formation of entrepreneurial capabilities. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy 1(4): 304–329.

16.

Lemoine

P. A.

Richardson

M. D.

(2015) Micro-credentials, nano degrees, and digital badges: New credentials for global higher education. International Journal of Technology and Educational Marketing (IJTEM) 5(1): 36–49.

17.

Lewis

M. J.

Lodge

J. M.

(2016) Keep calm and credential on: Linking learning, life and work practices in a complex world. In: Ifenthaler

Bellin-Mularski

Mah

D. K.

(eds) Foundations of digital badges and micro-credentials, Cham, Switzerland: Springer, pp. 41–54. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-15425-1_3.

18.

Litzinger

T. A.

Lattuca

L. R.

HadGraft

R. G.

Newstetter

W. C.

(2011) Engineering education and the development of expertise. Journal of Engineering Education 100(1): 123–150.

19.

Male, S. A., Bush, M. B., & Chapman, E. S. (2009). Identification of competencies required by engineers graduating in Australia. Proceedings of the 20th Annual Conference for the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (pp. 882–887). Sydney, Australia: Australian Association of Engineering Education.

20.

Mann, L., Chang, R., Chandrasekaran, S., Coddington, A., Daniel, S., Cook, E., … Cosson, B. (2019). From problem-based learning to practice-based education: A framework for shaping future engineers. European Journal of Engineering Education. Manuscript submitted for publication.

21.

Mills

J. E.

Treagust

D. F.

(2003) Engineering education—Is problem-based or project-based learning the answer. Australasian Journal of Engineering Education 3(2): 2–16.

22.

Morris

N. M.

Kuratko

D. F.

Pryor

C. G.

(2014) Building blocks for the development of university-wide entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Research Journal 4(1): 45–68.

23.

Neck

H. M.

Corbett

A. C.

(2018) The scholarship of teaching and learning entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy 1(1): 8–41.

24.

Osterwalder

Pigneur

Bernarda

Smith

(2014) Value proposition design: How to create products and services customers want, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

25.

Rideout

E. C.

Gray

D. O.

(2013) Does entrepreneurship education really work? A review and methodological critique of the empirical literature on the effects of university-based entrepreneurship education. Journal of Small Business Management 51(3): 329–351.

26.

Ries

(2011) The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses, New York, NY: Crown Books.

27.

Winkler

Troudt

E. E.

Schweikert

Schulman

S. A.

(2015) Infusing business and entrepreneurship education into a computer science curriculum: A case study of the STEM Virtual Enterprise. Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship 27(1): 1.