Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Engineering Education to Meet Recent Changes in the World

Rajesh Kumar1and S. A. Imam2

1Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, AjayKumarGargEngineeringCollege, PO Adhyatmic Nagar, Ghaziabad201009

2Department of Electrical and Communication Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

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Abstract:Recent changes in the world and engineering present both challenges and opportunities to engineering education. Engineering education is changing to meet these challenges. More and more engineering programs attempt to include entrepreneurship and innovation. Aim of this paper is to discuss whether computer knowledge is necessary for all engineers to contribute to modern life style development and if it is, how to teach latest technology, use of software in daily life, easier execution for non-technical people.

The article reflects on academic work culture in technical institutes or organizations, aimed to develop and test an educational model for teaching engineering students.Findings showed that use of computer knowledge group oriented teaching may contribute to training communicative skills. It is necessary to start with the teachers' roles, training them in demonstrating social dimensions in professional situations.

It also could be of great value to invite engineers from various workplaces to act like role models within the education programme. Authors present their view on teaching entrepreneurship to engineers and describe their experience to introduce entrepreneurship in engineering education.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Breakthrough products , Software business, Technology sales.

I. INTRODUCTION

Following points are important for teaching professionals in engineering colleges, medical colleges and other professional institutions:

Reasoning and inferential skills
Accurate and fluent reading skills
Use of strategies to improve situations
Enhance interests in tasks and material
Analyzing the weakness of students
Better understanding the concepts

Developing better communication skills
Inculcate confidence

Barriers in Communication

Skilled teaching professional considers the following barriers while teaching:

Unwillingness to say things differently
Unwillingness to relate to others differently
Unwillingness to learn new approaches
Lack of enthusiasm
Voice quality
Prejudice
Language and vocabulary level
Lack of self awareness.

II. KEY POINTS FOR ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN RELATION TO BUSINESS

Global Markets, National policies and thecompetitive Advantages of firms: This point examines the opportunity and risk that firms face in current global world. Also this provides conceptual tools for analyzing how governments and social institutions nurture economic competition among firms in different national settings. Public policies and institutions that shape competitive outcomes are examined through cases and analytical readings on different companies and industries operating in both developed and emerging markets.

Managing Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship: It focuses on challenges inherent in attempting to take advantage of both incremental or scheduled innovation and more radical or world-shattering changes in products and processes. Highlights the importance of innovation to both new ventures and to large established firms and explores the organizational, economic and strategic problems that must be tackled to ensure innovation is a long term source of competitive advantage.

How to Develop "Breakthrough" Products and Services: Firms know they must develop major innovations to do well but they don't know how. Recent research into the innovation process has solved the puzzle and made it possible to develop "breakthroughs" systematically. Subject presents several

practical concept development methods, explains how and why each works, and the conditions under which each is effective.

The Software Business: Seminar-style subject for those interested in founding or growing an enterprise or consumer software company (products, services, or both), or working as a software company manager, product or program manager, or industry analyst. Examines approaches used for organization and product development at successful companies ranging from Microsoft and IBM to a variety of relatively new companies. History of software as a business as well as key trends in different software markets. Student-teams help teach weekly sessions and analyze "interesting companies" selected by students, which form the basis for team projects.

III.TECHNOLOGICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Overview of the field of entrepreneurial theory and practice for development and growth of technology-based new enterprises is essential. Weekly lectures by academic and practitioner faculty engaged in the MIT Entrepreneurship Program, supplemented by presentations by and discussions with leaders of MIT entrepreneurship-related activities, e.g. Technology Licensing Office, Venture Mentoring Service, as well as successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Fig. 1 gives an idea of increased diversity and complexity of new product instructions.

Strategies for technology based New Business development

This course explores strategic and organizational issues in the development of new technologies and new business areas for existing firms. Issues are examined from the perspectives of both large corporations and emerging, technology-based enterprises. Linkages between internal and external sources of technology in major new business development are discussed Internal entrepreneurial ventures, alliances (especially between large and new companies), joint ventures, acquisitions, corporate venture capital investments, and contract product development as alternative approaches are examined. Through lectures by faculty and outside speakers, the course offers a brief overview of issues faced in developing technology strategies and plans.

Commercializing Emerging Technologies: Students participate in a hands-on experience evaluating commercial feasibility of innovative research emerging out of grants to School of Engineering faculty for Technological Innovation, as well as faculty research projects.

Student projects cover critical aspects of commercialization such as developing an intellectual property strategy, performing competitive analysis, selecting the target application and market for the technology, identifying the

AKG JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY, vol. 1, no.1

appropriate business model for commercialization, designing

a go-to-market-plan, and choosing the sales approach to garner initial customers.

Lectures expose students to the key issues of technology transfer, new venture creation, commercialization develop strong skills in communication and working as teams. Resumé and application including brief statement of objectives are required before registration to enable best match of students with projects. However the permission of instructor/project guide is required.

IV. TECHNOLOGY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGY

This point focuses on building a technology strategy in start-up organizations in new industries. It outlines tools for formulating and evaluating technology strategy in entrepreneurial start-ups, including an introduction to models of technological evolution, models of new-firm strategy development, and models of organizational dynamics and innovation. This include the strategy for: making money from innovation; competition between technologies; strategies for competing against established incumbents; organization of R&D; technology portfolio development; and theories of diffusion and adoption. Figure 1 shows the courses in the learning institution to build a firm foundation for a productive engineering career in a manufacturing, design and product realization.

Designing and Leading the Entrepreneurial Organization:

This subject is about building, running, and growing an organization. Subject has four central themes: (1) How to think analytically about designing organizational systems, (2) How leaders, especially founders, play a critical role in shaping an organization’s culture, (3) What really needs to be done to build a successful organization for the long-term; and (4) What one can do to improve the likelihood of personal success. Not a survey of entrepreneurship or leadership; subject addresses the principles of organizational architecture, group behavior and performance, interpersonal influence, leadership and motivation in entrepreneurial settings. Through a series of casestudie, lectures, readings and exercises students develop competencies in organizational design, human resource management, leadership and organizational behavior in the context of a new, small firm.

Digital Innovations: Digital Innovations is a spring seminar surveying the blossoming arena of social software, particularly applications based on smart phones. It explores the possibilities of this technology through research test beds, which are systematically deployed research lab prototypes that attempt to shape human behavior and communication in organizations while systematically observing the (often unexpected) social consequences. All students are expected to:

INNOVATION IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION

(a) participate in the exploratory phase of one of the technology test bed projects, (b) form teams to design novel experimental tools/artifacts and/or applications, (c) run at least one rigorous experiment, and (d) write a summary project

report. In the past these projects have been the basis for future research, publications, and spin-off ventures.

Technology Sales and Sales Management: Nothing happens until a sale is made. That simple point underlines the critical importance of sales to the entrepreneur. Almost every business plan "assumes" a certain amount of sales, but that assumption is the tipping point. Without sales, the entire business model is an exercise in frustration.

Figure 1. Increased diversity and complexity of new product instructions.

Figure 2. The courses in the learning institution build a firm foundation for a productive engineering career in a manufacturing, design, and product realization.

V. CONCLUSION

The entrepreneur must not only understand the sales process, but also embrace the fact that the ability to sell is the single most critical success factor of any new enterprise. This course does not approach sales from the vaunted perspective of 'strategy.' It gets right into the

very practical and tactical ins and outs of how to sell technical

products to a sophisticated marketplace. Then it moves into the more complex subject of how to build and manage a sales force and covers subjects such as building compensation systems for a sales force, assigning territories, resolving disputes, and dealing with channel conflicts.

In a larger sense, the entrepreneur has to "sell" his vision to prospective employees, to angel and venture investors, and to strategic partners. This course focuses directly on selling to customers, whether that is through a direct sales force, a channel sales force, or building an OEM relationship. A modern organizational interlinked management network shown in Fig-3 that describes the best and suitable function of entrepreneurship and innovation in engineering education.Sales are the one function that can't hide behind the veil of corporate doubletalk; sales goals are either made or not made. Every entrepreneurial activity leverages off that single fact. Markets are not totally rational organizations and the firms with the best sales teams usually will win.

Figure3 A network of entrepreneurship and innovation in engineering education.

V. REFERENCES

The Making of an Engineer - An illustrated history of engineering education in the United States and Canada, Lawrence Grayson, John Wiley and Sons, 1993, pg x.
Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education , R.M.Felder, L.K.Silverman; Engineering Education 78(7), April 1988, pp674-681.
Cognitive Aspects of Learning and Teaching Science, Jose P. Mestre, Pre-College Teacher Enhancement in Science andMathematics: Status, Issues and Problems, S. J. Fitzsimmons and L.C. Kerpelman (Eds.), Washington DC: NSF
Toward a Strategy for Teaching Engineering Design, Billy V. Koen, Engineering Education, 83(3), July 1994, pp 193-202.
A Different Way of Teaching, P.C. Wankat, F.S. Oreovicz, ASEE Prism, January 1994, pp 15-19.
Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education , R.M.

/ Syed A Imam was born in Bihar on Jan-4, 1961. He received the M. Sc. Engg degree from AMU, Aligarh and PhD. Degree in Electronics & Comm. Engg from JamiaMilliaIslamiaCentralUniversity, New Delhi, in 1998, and 2008, respectively. Since 1990, he has been part of JamiaMilliaIslamiaUniversity, where he is Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronicsand Communication Engineering. His current research interests are in the field of sensing technologies, electronic and biosensors, signal processing and digital circuits.

Felder, L.K. Silverman, Engineering Education, 78(7), April 1988, pp674-681.
Engineering Education Coalitions-Meeting the Need for Reform , National Science Foundation, publication NSF 93-58a.
ECSEL Coalition (Engineering Coalition of Schools for Excellence in Education and Leadership) -- A Foundation for EducationalChange, M.L. Walker Jr, J.R. Bowen, and B.B. Schimming, Proceedings of 23rd Frontiers in Education Conference, Crysal City,VA, Nov 1993, p 35.

/ Rajesh Kumar received BE in Electronics and Communication Engineering from BangaloreUniversity in 2001 and M Sc.(Engg) in Control Systems from the National Institute of Technology Patna. He taught at RPS Institute Of Technology, Patna from 2002 to Feb 2007. Since March 2007, he is with The Department of ECE, AjayKumarGargEngineeringCollege, Ghaziabad.His research interest is in the area of Sensing Technology.He is currently pursuing PhD Degree in the
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Departmentof Electronics and Communication Engineering, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

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