Work

Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindsets: Designing Foundry-Guided Strategies to Develop Interdisciplinary Skills in Student Teams

Year: 2025

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: This work-in-progress explores two critical components central to the foundations of our research.The first component is the introduction of a pedagogical approach for fostering collaboration and interdisciplinary communication, which is grounded in principles guided by an innovation-driven learning model (the Renaissance Foundry) and tied to the three core components of the KEEN Entrepreneurial Mindset: Curiosity, Connections, and Creating Value.We emphasize how these three components play a vital role in enhancing communication and collaboration across disciplines, particularly within Foundry-guided activities.The second component describes preliminary work of student teams from a required second-year course in a National Science Foundation National Research Traineeship (NSF-NRT) graduate level program, which included 11 trainees.As part of this work, we showcase the outcomes of their projects, drawing connections to the three C's of the KEEN Mindset, with a specific focus on how "Creating Value" is achieved through effective communication strategies.

DOI: 10.18260/1-2--54171

Authors: Robby Sanders, Andrea Arce-Trigatti, Pedro Arce

Institution: Tennessee Technological University

Language: English

Topic: Engineering Education and Pedagogy

Subfield: Architecture

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Funder: National Science Foundation

Award: Engendering the Spirit of Gadugi at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus