Stimulating Learning in Engineering Students by Collaborative Entrepreneurship Training

This paper describes the results of an educational project aiming to promote improved learning and entrepreneurial spirit among engineering students by resorting to the simulation of real world business cases in a collaborative digital environment. The approach is based on the combination of the following ingredients: - Creation of student awareness about real world engineering activities, involving engineering professionals and enterprises in selected classroom activities; - Simulation of a business environment in capstone project classes; - Market gaming around a set of business cases where students are organized in teams playing different professional roles (role playing); - Linking the outcome of market gaming and associated business cases with syllabus topics and with practical technological and market issues. The results obtained so far are encouraging and have attracted a major international prize: HP Innovations on Education.