Entrepreneurial Thinking in Interdisciplinary Student Teams

Xaver Neumeyer; Ann McKenna

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Entrepreneurial Thinking in Interdisciplinary Student Teams

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Entrepreneurial Thinking in Interdisciplinary Student Teams

Xaver Neumeyer and Ann McKenna

Advances in engineering education, Vol.5(1)

2016

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Abstract

Our work investigates students' perception of collaborative expertise and the role of inquiry-based learning in the context of team-based entrepreneurship education. Specifically, we examine students' perception of communication, division of work, shared goals, team conflicts and leadership in their respective teams. In addition, we look at the role that experts play in constructing students' understanding and learning when engaging in entrepreneurial ventures. To that purpose we extracted the types of sources that teams used to validate their hypotheses about revenue streams, customer relationships, or value propositions. We are using a mixed-method approach to data collection through peer-reviews, business model canvases, and status reports. This paper reports results from a study implemented in a graduate-level entrepreneurship course with a focus on sustainability and energy. Results of the peer-reviews indicate that composite scores increased between the midpoint and the end of the course. Although, female students received higher evaluations than male students, these differences were not statistically significant. The status reports and business model canvases revealed that teams utilize a range of first-hand and public sources such as expert interviews, publications and self-generated calculations to construct their business models. Finally, we found that teams engaged with experts from a variety of fields and job functions, ranging from fellow students to managers.

Business

Cooperative Learning

Course Descriptions

Energy

Entrepreneurship

Futures (of Society)

Gender Differences

Graduate Students

Information Technology

Inquiry

Interdisciplinary Approach

Interviews

Mixed Methods Research

Models

Peer Evaluation

Role

Scores

Specialists

Statistical Analysis

Student Attitudes

Student Evaluation

Sustainability

Teamwork

Details

Title: Subtitle: Entrepreneurial Thinking in Interdisciplinary Student Teams
Creators: Xaver Neumeyer
Ann McKenna
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Advances in engineering education, Vol.5(1)
Publisher: American Society for Engineering Education
ISSN: 1941-1766
eISSN: 1941-1766
Number of pages: 20
Language: English
Date published: 2016
Description audience: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Academic Unit: Engineering Administration
Record Identifier: 9984461864002771

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