Creativity, innovation, and ingenuity summer enrichment program — Collaborating with a cultural institution and preliminary assessment

Lawrence Technological University has developed and administers a week-long summer enrichment program for undergraduate engineering students focused on progressively building from the foundations of the creative process/competencies to the application of innovative techniques coupled with engineering design and problem solving. While this summer enrichment program is administered by the University, the program is facilitated in close partnership with The Henry Ford, a nationally renowned cultural, historical, and educational destination. This paper will explain the objectives and format of the program, summarize the benefits of collaborating with a local cultural institution, explain how this program can be transferable to other universities, and present preliminary assessment results. Two different assessments were performed: pre- and post-surveys determine the students´ perceptions of creativity, problem solving, teamwork, and leadership; and a curriculum survey evaluates the effectiveness, format and delivery techniques. A preliminary results for both assessments are positive. Further data will be obtained this year to allow for a more robust analysis. Based on the assessment results, the program is undergoing continuous improvement.