The Implementation of Senior Design Capstone Projects Combining Engineering and Business Students

Abstract

In order to address complex and multi-disciplinary world problems, it is necessary to create a diverse engineering work force composed of competent and creative individuals prepared to meet current and future global challenges. The entrepreneurial skillset has become increasingly important in this area; the vocational skills that a student learns can be augmented by an understanding of how business operates as well as an appreciation that enterprise skills can be applied within an organization. Traditional university programs lack the teaching methods to turn today’s students into innovative and creative leaders who can integrate both the engineering and business skills necessary to succeed in this technology driven global economy. The developed curriculum integrates engineering skills with entrepreneurial creativity by placing engineering and business students on the same projects in the same physical space to facilitate cross-pollination of knowledge in a collaborative learning environment to create technology savvy entrepreneurs. This paper outlines the curriculum framework, a discussion of the resources required, overviews of typical industry projects, a discussion of evaluation criteria, and a discussion of the benefits.