Loren Hedgecock
Author: Loren Hedgecock | Major: Biomedical Engineering | Semester: Spring 2022
Hello, my name is Loren Hedgecock, and I am a biomedical engineering student. Over the course of the 2022 spring grant term, I had the pleasure of working alongside my honors research mentor, Dr. Mostafa Elsaadany, to create a biomolecular engineering project integrating entrepreneurial skills. I have been conducting engineering education research with Dr. Elsaadany since the fall semester of 2020. Entrepreneurship is a broad term. When most people think of entrepreneurship, they think of a business. However, people will use the term entrepreneur as a unique character trait and portrayal of a person who is an inventive self-starter. Our research focuses on entrepreneurship as a personal quality and an essential skill that can be learned. Entrepreneurship is critical as it drives innovation and accelerates economic growth.
The KEEN- Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network- foundation recognized this importance and created a learning framework to bolster entrepreneurial skills in engineering. We have used this learning framework to teach technical skills that coincide with the three C’s- Curiosity, Connections, and Creating Value. These three traits are essential to developing what is known as an entrepreneurial mindset (EM). Ultimately, the value of developing an entrepreneurial mindset is that graduates can create personal, economic, and societal value through a lifetime of meaningful work.
In the Fall of 2020, we started the first stages of this research by creating an experimental outline of our study. To begin, we spent months investigating an entrepreneurial mindset and KEEN-inspired EML modules integrated into engineering courses. In order to introduce EML into our courses, we had to consider two critical factors: (1) How to successfully incorporate EML into the classroom and (2) How to measure or gather quantifiable data from these skills. We soon found that the groundwork for this experiment was rooted in a sophomore-level Biomechanical engineering class. This was the first biomedical engineering course at the University of Arkansas that incorporated EML into a course. To address the first important factor, we created a semester-long project with three modules containing target EML skills. The course itself included two versions of this project. Version 1, or the control group, was the course project without the embedded EML skills. Version 2, or the experimental group, contained the course project with the embedded EML skills. The most challenging aspect of our experiment was addressing the second objective- figuring out a way to get data or quantify qualitative skills. From our previous literature assessments, we decided the best way to measure students’ receptiveness to EML was to use an end-of-semester survey containing 5-point Likert scale questions.
From this project, we gained lots of valuable insights. Our results indicated that students participating in the EML version of the project rated significantly higher instances of the elements that develop an entrepreneurial mindset- curiosity, connections, and creating value. When further broken down into specific EML skills, the students in the EML version consistently showed higher occurrences than students participating in the control project. Interestingly, both groups showed high average ratings for each skill and EML element. This suggests one of two things: (1) The biomechanical engineering course itself naturally contains EML elements, or (2) the control and experimental project were too similar.
To further explore this quandary, we have spent the past semester developing a similar project in biomolecular engineering. Again, this project contains control and experimental groups; however, the project will be more distinct. Additionally, we have included a pre-semester survey to study students’ EML mindset before the course. My involvement in entrepreneurship will not end here, as I intend to further my understanding of entrepreneurship in a new field- healthcare. I am very excited to use my newfound knowledge and research skills and eventually apply them in a new way in medical school.