Entrepreneurship in Engineering

Engineering: |n.| the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to solve technical problems.

Solving technical problems is the aim of every engineer. Whether electrical, computer, biomedical, or mechanical, the field of engineering develops innovative and complex solutions to the world’s most complex problems. But to be a truly competent engineer, one must take an entrepreneurial approach and identify the problem that needs to be solved before creating a solution.

The Entrepreneurial Engineering Project (18-655) course in the electrical and computer engineering department aims to do just that.

Taught by Jim Bain, associate department head for academic affairs and professor of electrical and computer engineering, this newer course encourages undergraduate and master’s students to work with an external investment partner to develop exploratory designs of systems for a wide range of applications.

“This course is about making opportunities for students to interact with companies to learn what they need,” says Bain. “Engineers are usually focused on the sophisticated technology needed to solve problems. This course aims to teach students to develop a solution before the technology. To have a problem-centric approach.”

The course pairs student groups with vetted external venture companies in hopes of identifying needs within their current structure. After forming an idea and talking with employees in the company, the student group proposes a solution, creates a mock-up, and presents their ideas to the company. Following completion of the course, the external investment partners and students can independently explore subsequent seed funding and/or licensing of successful ideas and projects. Grades are assigned by the faculty instructor based on novelty and creativity of the project, engineering process, and weekly progress, not the ultimate success or failure of the project idea or originally proposed solution. 

“We want students to learn that they must listen to clients instead of jumping to solutions,” says Bain. “And that it is okay to make mistakes.”

“Taking the course prepared me to start my company because it gave me the time and frameworks to do the necessary exploratory work – i.e. customer discovery, and problem formulation,” explains Maximillian Obasiolu (ENG 2023, ETIM 2023), founder and CEO of Lead-In Record Co., an on-demand vinyl record manufacturing company. “Too many startups, and engineers, are quick to build solutions to problems that don’t exist. Professor Bain’s class made sure we avoided this common pitfalll.”

While this entrepreneurial mindset is not a new one, university courses on this topic are usually reserved for business majors. Creating an entrepreneurship course specifically for engineering students is a vital offering that will enrich the field in the years to come. By encouraging students to have a problem-centric mindset, they will break open possibilities that were not previously identified.

“This class is a resource for sourcing and recruiting talent, especially since it pre-selects for people with entrepreneurial interests,” says Obasiolu. “Most of CMU’s entrepreneurial groups are in the Tepper School of Business or School of Computer Science. Now the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the College of Engineering have a community for it.”

“We are encouraging students to fall in love with the problem and not the solution,” says Bain.

Entry into the course is by invitation from the faculty instructor (typically advised by the external investment partners). Student teams will be invited based on the alignment of their skill sets and experience with a set of posted projects. Teams may also be invited based on a student-initiated pitch of their own ideas and their alignment with external investor interest. Students interested in the course can indicate their interests, qualifications, and project ideas via instructions from departmental advisors or the course instructor. See the course listing here.