The NC State Engineering Entrepreneurs Program

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The NC State Engineering Entrepreneurs Program

• Tom Miller
• College of Engineering
• NEEDHA 2001 Annual Meeting
• March 19, 2001

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Program Objectives

• Retain student interest in engineering
• Improve retention of underclassmen by providing
  senior leaders as role models
• Improve leadership and teamwork skills
• Prepare students for 21st century workplace

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Program Organization

• High-tech entrepreneurial theme
• Entrepreneurial companies composed of
  vertically integrated student teams.
• Success-oriented approach.
• Multi-semester participation.
• Weekly seminar series.
• Team presentations.

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Company Organization

• Companies composed of 5 to 20 students.
• Vertically integrated teams include engineering
  students at all levels.
• Company themes based on student interests.
• Senior leaders earn 4 credits underclassmen earn
  1 credit.

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Success-oriented Approach

• No examinations.
• Students sign contract which defines their
  expected performance and deliverables.
• Senior leaders negotiate contracts with their
  faculty advisor underclassmen negotiate
  contracts with their senior leaders.

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Multi-semester Participation

• Students may join a company as freshmen and can
  stay with that company until they graduate.
• Participants who stay in the program eventually
  become company leaders.
• Students earn one credit for each semester of
  participation leaders earn four credits.

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Entrepreneurs Program Seminar Series

• Weekly seminars on topics related to high-tech
  entpreneurship.
• Topics include entrepreneurial success stories,
  marketing, capitalization, legal issues, and
  others.
• Most popular speakers are engineers who have
  become successful entrepreneurs.

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Seminar examples

• Kelly Campbell, Interface Technologies
• 30 lessons in starting a small business
• Dennis Daugherty, Intersouth Partners
• Venture Capital Funding a start-up company
• Bill Nussey, iXL
• The productization of high technology
• Scot Wingo, AuctionRover.com
• Guerilla and viral marketing
• Donnie Barnes, Bob Young, Marc Ewing, Red Hat
  Software
• The Red Hat experience

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Student Team Presentations

• Each company makes three presentations each
  semester
• Statement of company mission, goals, objectives,
  organization, and strategy.
• Mid-semester progress reports.
• Final presentation.
• All students must participate in at least one
  company presentation.

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Examples of Student Companies

• Body Systems Innovation
• on-body motion analysis systems
• MechTek Software
• interactive tutorial software for students and
  practicing engineers
• DevNULL
• cd-rom UNIX distribution for NCSU students
• Cyber Games, Inc.
• Star Jump 3-D computer action/adventure game

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Program Evaluation

• End of Course survey
• Interviews with former students
• Surveys of current and former students
• Comparison of Entrepreneurship students with NCSU
  engineers and NCSU student body.
• Based on data from 1993-96

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Students are more likelyto complete their degrees
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Persistence Rates of Freshman Cohorts
Persistence Enrolled Graduated
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Students are more likely to stay in engineering
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Students are more likely to stay in engineering
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SUCCEED Retention Study(courtesy of Dr. Matt
Ohland, Univ. of Florida)

• Paired analysis of demographically matched
  students from SUCCEED longitudinal database
• gender, ethnicity, cohort, engineering CIP, and
  SAT
• EEP students are more likely to graduate in
  engineering (p lt .005)
• 95 confidence interval for increased probability
  of retention is 6.4, 32.8
• EEP students are between 6.4 and 32.8 more
  likely to graduate with engineering degrees than
  non-EEP students

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Younger students, as well as seniors, learn from
their project experience
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Results were mixed on the influence of senior
leaders

• My senior leaders determination rubbed off on
  me and helped me get motivated.

I wouldnt ask him what to have for lunch!
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Most students felt teamwork skills improved
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Nearly all senior leaders feel that their
leadership skills have improved
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Students find application to the Real World
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Articles and Products
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Recent Press Highlights
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For more information...

• http//www.engr.ncsu.edu/eep/