Investigating the Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on

Engineering StudentsNCIIA Open Conference 2011– Washington, D.C.

Nathalie Duval-Couetil, MBA, PhDDirector, Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation ProgramAssociate Director, Burton Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship

Teri Reed-Rhoads, MBA, PhDAssistant Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Education

Associate Professor of Engineering Education

Shiva Haghighi, Graduate StudentCivil Engineering

Component of larger study• Entrepreneurship Education and Its Impact on

Engineering Students Outcomes: The Role of Program Characteristics and Faculty Beliefs (NSF)

• Partners: NCIIA, Purdue University, Penn State University, North Carolina State University

Objectives of the NSF Study

Student outcomes

Program characteristics

Faculty beliefs and practices

Explore relationships to help inform program development,

improve educational experiences, and evaluate their

success

Student Outcomes Study Objectives• Characteristics of engineering students who

participate in entrepreneurship education• Attitudes toward and levels of involvement in

entrepreneurship education• Impact of entrepreneurship education on self-

efficacy

Why is this important?

• Careers available to engineers have changed• Universities must graduate engineers with

broader skills• Growth in entrepreneurship programs and

models• Few valid and reliable assessments in the field

2010 NCIIA Workshop: Assessing the Impact of Entrepreneurship Education on Engineering Students

Our Methodology

A. Assessment Instrument DevelopmentB. Data CollectionC. SampleD. Statistical Analysis

Duval-Couetil, N., Reed-Rhoads, T., Haghighi, S. (2010, October). Developing an Assessment to Examine Multiple Outcomes of Entrepreneurship Education on Engineering Students ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Washington, DC.Duval-Couetil, N., Reed-Rhoads, T., Haghighi, S. (2010, October). Developing an Assessment to Examine Multiple Outcomes of Entrepreneurship Education on Engineering Students ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Washington, DC.

Duval-Couetil, N., Reed-Rhoads, T., Haghighi, S. (2010, October). Developing an Assessment to Examine Multiple Outcomes of Entrepreneurship Education on Engineering Students ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Washington, DC.

Constraints• Homogeneity across institutions – senior design• Distribution across institutions - online– Downsides are lower participation and self-selection

• Scope and length– Brief enough so faculty will see the value and

students will complete it– Broad enough to characterize programs, schools and

faculty

Assessment Instrument Development• 135-item web-based survey• Survey item categories included in this paper:– Demographics (14 items)– Attitudes (40 items)– Behaviors (12 items)– Self-efficacy (23 items)– Perceptions of programs and faculty (9 items)

Select Item Sources• Reasons for and Barriers to Entrepreneurship

(Shinnar et al. 2009) – Student and faculty attitudes toward entrepreneurship and its education

in context of assessing demand for a multidisciplinary course

• Venturing and Technology Self-efficacy (Lucas & Cooper 2009)– Students’ confidence in their venturing and technology applications skills

based on “authentic” tasks they might encounter in the workplace

• Purdue University Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation entry and exit surveys

• Reliability for select scales - Coefficient Alpha > 0.89

Data Collection and Sample• Engineering students enrolled in senior-level

capstone design courses at 3 institutions:• Capstone level students chosen to provide

homogeneity across institutions and entrepreneurial activities most often occur at the capstone level

University # Students Participating

NCSU 97PSU 100

Purdue 144Total 343

Statistical Analysis• Analyses focused primarily on differences

between students who had and had not taken an entrepreneurship course

• Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U post-hoc tests

• To simplify, 5-point response scales were collapsed into three by grouping responses

• Statistical significance set at p<.05

Research Question1

What are the characteristics of engineering students participating in entrepreneurship courses and programs?

Characteristics of Students in E-Ship• The participation of Asian students

significantly higher than Caucasian (p<0.001)• International students were found to

participate more than domestic (p<0.05)• Mechanical and electrical were significantly

higher involvement than civil and chemical (p<0.001)

• Trend in favor of males (p=08)

Research Question 2

To what extent does entrepreneurship play a role in engineering students’ academic programs and career plans?

E-Ship in Engineering Programs

• Less than a third agreed that entrepreneurship was presented as a worthwhile career option

• Fewer were encouraged to take entrepreneurship courses or activities

• A fifth agreed that engineering faculty discussed entrepreneurship

• Two thirds agreed that engineering students should learn more about entrepreneurship

ResultsItem Disagree

%Undecided

%Agree

%

Students should learn more about entrepreneurship 16 20 64

There are opportunities to interact with entrepreneurs 43 22 35

Students are encouraged to develop entrepreneurial skills 49 22 29

Entrepreneurship is presented as a worthwhile career option 49 27 24

Faculty discuss entrepreneurship 63 15 21

Students are encouraged to take entrepreneurship courses 56 24 21

Students are taught entrepreneurial skills 65 17 17

Students are encouraged or required to participate in entrepreneurship-related activities

65 21 14

Students are encouraged to consider starting their own companies 61 26 13

Interest in Entrepreneurship• More interest from students who had taken

entrepreneurship courses• Both groups strongly agreed entrepreneurship

education could broaden their career choices• Half of those who had not taken an e-ship

course were interested in doing so• Over half wanted to learn about

entrepreneurship in their engineering courses

Interest in Entrepreneurship

Item No e-ship coursesAgree %

One or more e-ship courses - Agree %

Entrepreneurship education can broaden my career prospects and choices

70 86I would like to learn about entrepreneurship in my engineering courses

59 81I am interested in taking entrepreneurship classes 47 79I have a general interest in the subject of entrepreneurship

59 78I would like to know if I have what it takes to be an entrepreneur

27 71I want to become an entrepreneur 30 62I have an idea for a business, product or technology 27 49

All significant at p<0.001

Involvement in Entrepreneurship• 60% of students took e-ship courses within their

engineering programs• Moderate involvement in the area of “developed

a product or technology for a real client or customer” for both groups

• Low but equal levels of involvement in “patenting a technology or protecting intellectual property”

• For all other activities, students who had taken one or more e-ship courses were over twice as likely to participate

Involvement in E-ship Activities Item

No e-ship courses

%

One or morecourses

%

Totaln

Developed a product or technology for a real client or customer 29 38 106

Conducted market research and analysis for a new product or technology 18 46 89

Given an "elevator pitch" or presentation to a panel of judges about a product or business idea

15 43 78

Written a business plan 12 40 69Participated in an entrepreneurship related competition (e.g., product development, business plan)

7 38 54

Interned or worked for an entrepreneurial or startup company 11 25 50

Been involved in patenting a technology or protecting intellectual property 14 15 46

Participated in entrepreneurship-related workshops (extra-curricular, non-credit) 3 28 36

Been involved in entrepreneurship- or business-related student organizations 5 24 11

Post-Graduation Career Goals• All students most interested in working for a

medium- or large-size business, followed by attending graduate school

• Significant differences were found for only two options - start their own business or work for a small business or startup (p<0.001)

Post-Graduation Career Goals

Item No e-ship coursesAgree %

One or more e-ship courses

Agree %p-value

Work for a medium- or large-size business 71 68

Attend graduate/professional school 41 51

Start my own business or be self-employed 25 43 *

Work for a small business or start-up company 29 43 *

Work for the government 31 29

Work for a non-profit organization 11 13

Serve in the military 4 9

Significant at p<0.01

Why students would start a business

Top reasons they would• Satisfy a need in the market• Have more flexibility and

independence• Focus on a technology that

interests me• Create something of my

own

Top reasons they wouldn’t• Lack of initial capital for

startup• Lack of legal assistance or

counseling• Excessively risky• Lack of ideas of what

business to start

Question 3

What are engineering student perceptions of their entrepreneurship-related abilities?

Perceptions of their Abilities• Students who had taken an entrepreneurship

course had higher confidence for each item• Business-related items accounted for some of

the largest differences • Entrepreneurship students rated themselves

significantly higher on items not directly related to entrepreneurship

Self-Efficacy Items (Lucas & Cooper)Item No e-ship One or more

M SD M SDDesign and build something new that performs very close to your design specifications 6.91 2.29 7.95 2.09Lead a technical team developing a new product to a successful result 6.79 2.52 7.86 2.16Translate user needs into requirements for a design so well that users will like the outcome 6.79 2.50 7.80 2.06Grasp the concept and limits of a technology well enough to see the best ways to use it 6.65 2.25 7.72 2.04Convince a customer or client to try a new product for the first time 6.05 2.45 7.52 2.17Develop your own original hypothesis and a research plan to test it 6.59 2.53 7.50 2.30Recognize when an idea is good enough to support a major business venture 5.66 2.44 7.49 2.32

All significant at p<0.01

Self-Efficacy Items (Lucas & Cooper)

Item

No e-ship courses

One or more e-ship courses

M SD M SD

Understand exactly what is new and important in a groundbreaking theoretical article 6.50 2.41 7.46 2.08

Convert a useful scientific advance into a practical application 6.33 2.49 7.43 2.23Recruit the right employees for a new project or venture 6.09 2.47 7.36 2.15

Work with a supplier to get better prices to help a venture become successful 5.33 2.48 7.12 2.35Write a clear and complete business plan 5.37 2.56 6.98 2.33Estimate accurately the costs of running a new project 5.72 2.55 6.89 2.39

Pick the right marketing approach for the introduction of a new service 4.76 2.42 6.50 2.26

Know the steps needed to place a financial value on a new business venture 4.43 2.43 5.87 2.22All significant at p<0.01

Other Self-Efficacy Items

ItemNo e-ship courses One or more p

Communication skills 70 69

Presentation skills 60 63

Analytical skills 85 87

Ability to evaluate business ideas 33 61 *

Level of risk tolerance 35 47 *

Ability to deal with uncertainty 47 55 *

Overall how would you rate your entrepreneurial ability 17 50 *

How would you rate your ability to start a business now 11 17 *

* p<.05

Discussion - Demographics• Engineering students with particular

characteristics are participating in at higher rates than others

• High rates of participation by particular groups could mean that entrepreneurship courses may be one way to attract and retain students

Discussion - Interest/Involvement• Considerable interest in learning more about

entrepreneurship• A third or less felt it was addressed in their

engineering programs• Suggests more demand than supply

Discussion - Self-Efficacy• Even one course impacts self-efficacy• Interestingly, no significant impact on

presentation, communication and analytical skills

• Positive impact in areas not closely tied to entrepreneurship

Additional QuestionsInvolvement Would demand for entrepreneurship translate

into enrollment?

Self-Efficacy Is the knowledge gained in entrepreneurship courses making students feel more confident in a wide range of activities?

Or, are more confident students gravitating to entrepreneurship courses and programs?

How do other factors (e.g., family background) impact entrepreneurial self-efficacy?

Engineering Disciplines

Is entrepreneurship more relevant to specific engineering majors?

Is it being addressed to a greater degree by those programs?

Are students with an entrepreneurial disposition more attracted to specific majors?

How can entrepreneurial involvement or relevance be duplicated in other departments?

Impact on Careers

To what degree does it impact students’ post-graduation careers?

Curriculum Where is entrepreneurship education situated relative to the other curricular priorities?

Additional Analyses• Multi-course program versus single course• Extent to which attitudes differ by university

or program model• Differences by demographic characteristics

Conclusion• Provides baseline data about engineering student

interest, involvement, and self-efficacy related to e-ship education

• Relatively few engineering students are being exposed to it even at institutions with established programs

• Those who take at least one course have significantly higher self-efficacy and are 2-3 times more likely to acquire hands-on skills which are valuable in the market for jobs

THANK YOU!QUESTIONS?