How Entrepreneurial are Project-based Courses in Engineering Education?

Paper in proceeding, 2017

This paper addresses the ongoing integration of entrepreneurship into engineering education and investigates the relationship between inductive teaching methods and teaching through entrepreneurship. The potential for learning experiences leading to the development of entrepreneurial capabilities in project based courses is investigated, through a qualitative multi-case study of eight courses, applying effectuation and new value creation to assess ways in which project-based learning is entrepreneurial . It is found that even in cases where students are engaged in new value creation towards an external actor, the structure of projects seems to mainly call for students to enact a causal rather effectual logic in their actions and strategies. Pedagogical implications for educators wanting students to develop entrepreneurial capabilities are discussed.