Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset in UDM Students

"Entrepreneurship and innovation are the driving forces for global competition and job creation," says Leo E. Hanifin, dean, College of Engineering & Science. "Our region and our nation need more entrepreneurs if we are to sustain our position as a world leader."

Intercollegiate entrepreneurship education is well underway at UDM. Through support from the Kern Family Foundation (two grants), the Lemelson Foundation (administered by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance), Ford Motor Company, and the Jesuit 100 Association, we have already piloted the following new courses:

• ENT 300/500 Interdisciplinary Design, Entrepreneurship and Service
• ENT 450/550  Innovation and Creativity,
• ENT 470/570  Front End of Innovation, and
• ENT 493  Product Entrepreneurship.

A cornerstone of theses initiatives is the IDEAS (interdisciplinary design, entrepreneurship and service) studio-based design course in which a team of junior-year students from across several colleges and programs work on projects that address critical needs of the Detroit community.  IDEAS has been developed through a grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). 

An additional strategic element of the program involves developing case studies to illustrate how entrepreneurs have capitalized on their knowledge of specific technical or scientific topics. These case studies are then integrated into the relevant course, which is often required in the student’s major,” says Professor Jonathan Weaver, Mechanical Engineering.

To date, three case studies have been developed around three entrepreneurs and their ventures:

•        Jonathan Smith and Wave Dispersion Technologies
•        Ray Gunn and his work with Somanetics and Clarity, and
•        Matt Younkle and Laminar Technologies’ TurboTap.

“The entrepreneurship team would like to acknowledge these entrepreneurs for their time and enthusiastic support in developing the case studies as well as the Kern Family Foundation for making the vision of such technical entrepreneurship case studies a reality,” says Professor Nassif Rayess, Mechanical Engineering.

Our second annual Ford Innovation Symposium also took place in October 2007.  The keynote speaker was innovation gurur Harry West of Continuum.

Mechanical Engineering Professors Weaver and Rayess, along with Fr. Oswald Mascarenhas of UDM’s  College of Business Administration, are spearheading these new innovation and entrepreneurship program efforts.