Paper ID #34977 Work in Progress: A Conceptual Design Project for Civil Engineering Freshmen to Enhance Their Entrepreneurial Mindset Dr. J. Chris Carroll, Saint Louis University Dr. Carroll is an Associate Professor and the Civil Engineering Program Coordinator in Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology at Saint Louis University. His experimental research interests focus on reinforced and prestressed concrete, while his engineering education research interests focus on experiential learning at both the university and K-12 levels. Dr. Carroll is also the chair of the American Concrete Institute’s Committee S802 - Teaching Methods and Educational Materials. Ms. Kelsey Z. Musa, Saint Louis University Kelsey Musa is a Civil Engineering student currently pursuing the MS Program in Engineering at Saint Louis University with a focus on Structural Engineering. Her experience in engineering education ranges from developing STEM related modules to moderating STEM camp activities for K-12 students. She aspires to practice engineering professionally in addition to pursuing future engineering education en- deavours and continuously encouraging students to pursue careers in STEM. Dr. Shannon M. Sipes, Indiana University, Bloomington Shannon Sipes serves as an instructional consultant providing professional development and individual consultations to faculty on areas related to their own teaching and to student learning. Prior to her current role, she has applied her interests in a STEM learning environment and taught a variety of psychology courses to both undergraduate and graduate students in face-to-face, hybrid, and online formats. Shannon earned a BS in psychology, a MA in experimental psychology, and a Ph.D. in curriculum & instruction with a focus in higher education. Dr. Scott A. Sell, Saint Louis University Scott A. Sell, Ph.D. is currently an Associate Professor and the Biomedical Engineering Program Coor- dinator in Parks College of Engineering, Aviation, and Technology at Saint Louis University. Prior to joining SLU in August of 2012, Dr. Sell received his education from Virginia Commonwealth University (BS in BME ’03; MS in BME ’06; and Ph.D. in BME in ’09), and spent three years conducting clinical tissue engineering research as a Polytrauma Research Fellow at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, VA. Dr. Sell’s Tissue Engineering Scaffold Fabrication Lab focuses on the fabri- cation and evaluation of tissue engineering scaffolds capable of replicating both the form and function of the native extracellular matrix (ECM). Of principal interest is the fabrication of scaffolds capable of promoting wound healing and the filling of large tissue defects, as well as orthopaedic applications such as bone and intervertebral disc repair. Dr. Sell is also heavily interested in engineering and entrepreneur- ship education; having worked closely with both the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) and the Coleman Foundation, and been selected to participate in the National Academy of Engineering’s Frontiers of Engineering Education Symposium in 2016. Dr. Sell has over 85 peer reviewed publications, over 195 conference abstracts, and 5500+ citations of his work. He has also been the recipient of sev- eral prestigious awards during his time at SLU: the Association of Parks College Students Outstanding Faculty of the Year Award, Saint Louis University’s Junior Faculty Grantwinner Award for Excellence in Research, the Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award for Parks College, and Saint Louis University’s Outstanding Faculty Mentorship Award. Dr. Michelle B. Sabick, Saint Louis University Dr. Michelle Sabick assumed the role of Dean of Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology at Saint Louis University in July of 2016. Prior to that she was Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Saint Louis University. Dr. Sabick began her academic career at Boise State University in Boise, Idaho where she co-founded the Center for Orthopaedic and Biomechanics Research and served as Chair of the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering for three years. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2021 Paper ID #34977 Sabick earned a BS degree in Biomedical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and MS and PhD degrees in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa. Before moving to academia, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Orthopedics at the Mayo Clinic and worked as a biomechanics researcher at the Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation in Vail, CO. Dr. Sabick’s research areas are orthopedic biomechanics and sports medicine. Her primary focus is on how highly ballistic human movements affect the joints of the upper extremity. She is the President-Elect of the American Society of Biomechanics and the co-chair of the Saint Louis University Science and Engineering Task Force. Throughout her career, Sabick has been passionate about improving undergraduate engineering education. She has been highly involved in efforts to transform STEM teaching practices at both Saint Louis Univer- sity and Boise State, where she helped mentor faculty members to infuse courses with more interactive and hands-on learning experiences. She is currently working on a Boeing-funded project to infuse more math content into the middle school curriculum in the St. Louis Public School System. c American Society for Engineering Education, 2021 A Conceptual Design Project for Civil Engineering Freshmen to Enhance Their Entrepreneurial Mindset Introduction In a 1972 article entitled, “Mickey Mouse for Mayor!” [1] Peter Blake said, “…it is Walt Disney Productions, and not our innumerable U.S city planning agencies and experts, that has really created the first, great, vibrant New Towns in America.” Walt Disney Imagineering, which is responsible for the design and construction of Disney projects, seems to understand the design process better than most. One might say they are particularly entrepreneurial in their mindset and approach. They exhibit curiosity and creativity; they connect various disciplines to accomplish major tasks; and they undoubtedly create value with nearly every project they produce. In fact, their approaches and techniques can be used successfully for more than just new theme parks, in fact, much, much more than new theme parks. Teaching the design process to engineering students is not an easy task and teaching it to first-year engineering students can be an even more challenging task and sometimes requires a bit more creativity to make it stick. This paper provides an overview of an inaugural freshmen design project implemented in the fall of 2020 at Saint Louis University (SLU). Students were assigned a group project that required them to produce a conceptual theme park and resort design at one of four abandoned sites across the United States. Students learned about the engineering design process, how to use SketchUp, and how to effectively present an idea. The overall goal was to make it more like a real-world project, while enhancing the students’ entrepreneurial mindset. The students in the course took an entrepreneurial mindset survey before and after the project and provided responses to a series of open-ended questions. In addition to the project overview, this paper also presents the results of the pre- and post-surveys and a summary of the open-ended responses along with some lessons learned and future plans. Background Entrepreneurial Mindset The American Society of Civil Engineers’ third edition of its Body of Knowledge (BOK3) [2] includes Professional Attitudes in both the Cognitive and Affective Domain. The BOK3 expects students to reach Level 2—Comprehend in the cognitive domain by being able to “Explain professional attitudes relevant to the practice of civil engineering, including creativity, curiosity, flexibility, and dependability.” Likewise, the BOK3 also expects students to reach Level 2—Respond in the affective domain by being able to “Practice professional attitudes relevant to the practice of civil engineering, including creativity, curiosity, flexibility, and dependability. The BOK3 also mentions innovation. The Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) published the KEEN Framework: A Guide for Entrepreneurial Mindset [3] to help faculty, students, and industry understand their wholistic view. The Framework combines entrepreneurial mindset and engineering skillset to accomplish educational outcomes. The entrepreneurial mindset is based upon the 3C’s: Curiosity, Connections, and Creating Value, and the engineering skillset includes three categories: opportunity, design, and impact. The skills included within the opportunity category are identify an opportunity, investigate the market, create a preliminary business model, evaluate technical feasibility, customer value, societal benefits, and economic viability, test concepts quickly via customer engagement, and assess policy and regulatory issues. The skills included within the design category include determine design requirements, perform technical design, analyze solutions, develop new technologies, create a model or prototype, and validate functions. The skills included within the impact category are communicate an engineering solution in economic terms, communicate an engineering solution in terms of societal benefits, validate market interest, develop partnerships and build a team, identify supply chains and distribution methods, and protect intellectual property.