Entrepreneurial Skills for Engineers – Insights from the Development of an Online Course

Engineers need to have a solid technical foundation for their education and practice but there is also a requirement to have a wider set of professional and enterprise related knowledge and skills in order to be successful in the workplace. This includes understanding how to develop innovative ideas through to new products and businesses as part of the entrepreneurial journey – including both new venture creation as well as developing a new business area within an existing organization (i.e. intrapreneurial). Traditionally, engineering education has not included the provision of teaching in this area and consequently a new online course has been developed called ‘Entrepreneurial Skills for Engineers’. The course provides a comprehensive and integrated view of the different aspects to support an engineer to become more innovative and entrepreneurial. This paper provides insights from the design and delivery of the online program, including discussion of how the technical material was assembled as well as the learning outcomes for the course and wider pedagogical aspects. A review of the requirements for enterprise education is provided through analysis of literature in the area. The paper also provides guidance to engineering faculty and others who are seeking to develop enterprise related programs for engineers.