REU Site: Engineering Entrepreneurship Education (E3) - A Multidisciplinary, Entrepreneurial Research Experience for Undergraduates

康涅狄格大学的本科生研究体验(REU)网站名为工程创业教育(E3)--面向本科生的多学科创业研究体验，将为来自传统上代表性不足、获得STEM研究机会有限的有才华和多样化的本科生群体创造新颖的研究体验。美国国家工程院报告称，企业家精神是工程学本科生必须掌握的最关键技能之一。拟议的REU通过让学生有机会从事具有商业潜力的研究项目，同时向他们介绍与将新技术推向市场相关的挑战，满足了这一需求。该项目提供创业、交流、创意产生、销售和创意机会，鼓励学生在未来追求自己的创造性和创业努力。拥有这种经验的学生可以成为力量的倍增器，鼓励和吸引其他学生或个人也参与到创意和创业企业中来，培养必要的创业心态，以支持一个充满活力的、以技术为基础的经济。为了将创业工程培训的好处扩展到弱势群体，该网站与康涅狄格州立大学(CSCU)建立了招聘合作伙伴关系，以实现少数族裔参与的雄心勃勃的目标。向少数族裔学生开放获得创业能力的途径将转化为他们本国机构内更多的经济机会。在三年的时间里，这个REU网站项目将让本科生参加为期10周的密集暑期研究体验，重点是被认为具有高潜力转化为商业项目的项目，这些项目鼓励跨学科讨论和激发创造力。该研究计划将由一个正式的工程创业计划来补充，该计划将专注于创意过程、创意产生、原型制作和创业的现实。学生将通过向REU同龄人、他们的教师导师和企业家进行必要的演示来培养沟通技能。这一REU项目将康涅狄格大学一门成功的创业研究生课程所使用的模式转化为适合本科生的背景。

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site at the University of Connecticut entitled, Engineering Entrepreneurship Education (E3)-A Multidisciplinary, Entrepreneurial Research Experience for Undergraduates, will create novel research experiences for a talented and diverse group of undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented populations, with limited access to STEM research opportunities. The National Academy of Engineering reports that entrepreneurship is one of the most critical skills to be taught to engineering undergraduates. The proposed REU addresses this need by giving students the opportunity to work on research projects with commercial potential while simultaneously introducing them to challenges associated with bringing new technologies to market. The program offers entrepreneurship, communication, idea generation, salesmanship, and creativity opportunities to encourage students to pursue their own creative and entrepreneurial endeavors in the future. Students with this experience can serve as force multipliers, encouraging and engaging other students or individuals to also engage in creative and entrepreneurial enterprises developing the entrepreneurial mindset necessary to support a vibrant, technology-based economy. To extend the benefits of entrepreneurial engineering training to disadvantaged populations, the site has established a recruitment partnership with Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) to meet ambitious goals for minority participation. Opening avenues to minority students to achieve entrepreneurial competence will translate to greater economic opportunities within their home institutions.Over a three year period, this REU Site program will engage undergraduate students in a 10-week intensive, summer research experience focused on projects identified as having a high potential for translation to commercial projects and which encourage cross-disciplinary discussions and stimulate creativity. The research program will be complemented by a formal engineering entrepreneurship program that will focus on the creative process, idea generation, prototyping, and the realities of starting a business. Students will develop communication skills through required presentations to the REU cohort, their faculty mentors, and entrepreneurs. This REU program translates the model used by a successful graduate course in entrepreneurship at the University of Connecticut to a context appropriate for undergraduates.