Student Panel Presentation at 2012 National Collegiate Innovator and Inventors Conference in San Francisco, CA. Examines student perspectives of the "Learning by Doing" education process.

1. Learning by Doing: Perspectives on
Experiential Learning in the
Entrepreneurship Classroom
Steven Tello, Ed.D., Assoc. Professor
Holly Butler, MS ITE
Erin Webster, BS, CEE
David Harrington, BS, CEE

2. Teaching Entrepreneurship
“The entrepreneurial mystique? It’s not magic,
it’s not mysterious, and it has nothing to do
with the genes. It’s a discipline. And, like any
discipline, it can be learned”
- Peter Drucker, 1985

3. Teaching Entrepreneurship
• Management education typically focuses on
the best, or most effective way to operate
within existing organizations.
• Entrepreneurship education is distinctive in
its focus on realization of opportunity and
the creation of new organizations.
• Our goal is to teach students how to
recognize and develop opportunities.

4. Experiential Education
• “The process whereby knowledge is created
through the transformation of experience.
Knowledge results from the combination of
grasping and transforming experience”
• - Kolb, 1984
• Experiential Learning serves as an excellent
vehicle for transferring entrepreneurial skills

5. Approaches to Experiential
Education in Entrepreneurship
• Business plans
–(Hills, 1988; Vesper and McMullan, 1988; Preshing, 1991;
Gartner and Vesper, 1994; Gormal et al., 1997)
• Student business start-ups
–(Hills, 1988; Truell et al.)
• Consultation with entrepreneurs (Mentor Model)
–(Solomon et al., 1994; Klatt, 1988)
• Computer simulations
–(Brawer, 1997)
• Real time cases
–(Thoreaux, 2005)

6. Manning School of Business
UMass
Lowell
• AACSB Accredited Business Program
• Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Conc.
• MS in Innovation & Technological
Entrepreneurship
• Leverage the Business, Engineering and
Science strengths of UMass Lowell
• But how?

7. New Curriculum
• MS in Innovation & Tech Entrepreneurship

8. New Partners
• Merrimack Valley Sandbox
– Deshpande Foundation Grant
– Focus on Merrimack Valley
Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
– Campus/Community Catalyst
• International Experiences
– Bilkent University, Technology
Entrepreneurship
– Dublin City University, NUI Galway, Queens

9. Work Together on Projects
• Campus Medical Device Incubator
• Supports Medical Device Start-ups
• Engineering Prototype Support,
Clinical Trial Support & Business
Development
• Learning opportunities for
Business, Engineering,
Life Science & Health Care Students

10. Learning Opportunities for
Students
• Business Assessment of Med Device Start-ups
– 3-6 page summary of Business Opportunity
– Integrated into UG/G coursework
– Review by M2D2 Executive Board, 15 to date
– Factors into Inventor-Funding Decisions
• Venture Project
– Explores application of University IP to solve problems
with commercial potential
– Mixes Business, Science & Engineering Students
– Integrated into UG/GRAD coursework
– 10 page Venture Prospectus, Rocket Pitch & Venture
Poster

11. Learning Opportunities for
Students
• ECE Assistive Technology Capstone
Engineering students work
with Person w/a disability to
increase independence
• Internship Opportunities
in Startups
–MA Life Science Internship Challenge
–Alumni sponsorship

12. Graduate Perspective
• Holly Butler
– MS in Innovation & Technological Entre.
– MLSC Intern Challenge
5G Medical Device Startup
– M2D2 Research Assistant
– In class projects with real companies

13. Graduate Perspective
• Why do you participate in these “Real
World” Projects?
• What are the benefits?
• What are the challenges?

14. Undergraduate Perspective
• David Harrington, Erin
Webster
– Computer & Electrical
Engineering juniors
– Inventors, World Travelers
– Assistive Technology Capstone
– Assistive Technology Center

15. Undergraduate Perspective
• Why do you participate in these “Real
World” Projects?
• What is the benefit?
• What are the challenges?

16. Whiteboard Benefits
“You see how school concepts apply in the
workplace”
“You don’t know what you really need to do,
until you do it”
“I learn & retain more”
“The book only teaches so much”
“I increased my level of comfort with
technical tools by using them in a start-up”
“Isn’t this common sense”?

17. Benefits
• Immediate application of classroom knowledge to the
work world
• The development of competencies and experience
related to career goals and major
• The exploration of career goals with professionals in the
field
• Build resume with practical employment experience
• Take responsibility for your own learning, create a more
rewarding college experience (MLSC Internship)
• Establish a network of professional contacts, mentors
and references for after graduation

18. Whiteboard Challenges
“Takes student time, lots of time!”
“Takes my time as well (faculty time)”
– to arrange real world projects
– to integrate into course work
“Projects don’t always sync with course schedules”
“Courses (and Professors) must be updated w/the latest
technology”
“The technology part can challenge Business Students”
“How do you assess our work?”

19. Challenges
• Student Skills Required
– Research: finding credible market and product data
– Analytical: ability to determine usefulness of data
– Conceptual: assess business opportunity based on data
• Selecting Appropriate Projects
– Real World Projects may not match curriculum
• Skills vs. Expectations
– Quality of student work varies, while the business
professionals expect first quality work
• Teams & Virtual Teams
– While important for business students to learn,
a challenge to manage (for students & instructor)

20. Future Directions –
Culture of Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship Minor
– Mix Science, Engineering & Business Students
– Entrepreneurship GenEd course
• Deshpande Forum on Innovation &
Entrepreneurship (April 26, 27)
• 15 national leaders in campus innovation
• Expose campus to opportunities

21. Thank You
• Steven Tello, Ed. D.
Associate Professor
Management & Entrepreneurship
College of Management, UMass Lowell
Associate Director
M2D2, UMass Lowell
Steven_Tello@uml.edu

22. Student Perspectives
• “ The collaborative efforts between this class and M2D2 have
allowed me, as a student, the opportunity to step beyond
theory and case study and experience a real-world situation
unlike anything taught in my prior classes.”
MBA Student.

23. Student Perspectives
•“The project with M3 Medical …gave me the opportunity to
work on corporate assessment and strategy in a manner which I
have not previously been engaged, this was a professionally
rewarding project. “ MBA Student

24. Student Perspectives
• "As team leader of a geographically distributed M2D2 project
team, I have gained the confidence that is necessary to
manage a distributed team in the business world.”
ENT Undergraduate