An "Activation" Process to Create Entrepreneurial Engineers

The recognized importance of entrepreneurship as a driver of socio-economic value, along with disruptive advances in nano, bio, info and cogno technology domains, have increased the world demand of technology-based entrepreneurial ventures or “technology entrepreneurship”. In this endeavour, engineering education can play a crucial role in the development of professionals able to proactively identify and pursuit market opportunities driven by discoveries in science and technology. There is thus a need to create effective entrepreneurial higher education systems which develop innovation-oriented competencies and skills through hands-on and experiential approaches and a synergy among academic and industry stakeholders. Our experience is aimed to infuse the essence of entrepreneurship in engineering professionals with the ultimate goal to develop the next-generation profile of entrepreneurial engineer.