Product  Design  Incubator: Fostering  an Entrepreneurial Mindset Through  Interdisciplinary  Product Design

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving the communication, collaboration and critical thinking skills of technicians in training through entrepreneurial product design training. Employers in the information and engineering technology (IET) sector report that the employee talent pool lacks these skills that are demanded by the modern workplace. Traditional IET programs do not foster these skills, instead focusing on the acquisition of technical knowledge. A promising method to teach these skills is product design a holistic set of methodologies that applies engineering, entrepreneurship, and creative skills to the development of new products or services. As an interdisciplinary collaborative process, product design functions as a microcosm of the workplace, aiding in the development of skills required by regional employers. Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA)s Product Design Incubator (PDI) is an interdisciplinary project designed to train groups of community college students through a product design challenge. The PDI curriculum will integrate introductory entrepreneurship education and training (EET) and design thinking to guide students from initial ideation through the prototyping and pitch processes. PDI will be situated at NOVAs Fab Lab and will incorporate NOVA faculty, regional entrepreneurs and IET professionals to support student products. PDI will increase contact between students and industry professionals, foster interdisciplinary collaboration between NOVA students and staff, and increase the supply of IET workers with industry-required collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills.

PDIs primary goal is to improve skill development through product design instruction. PDI has 4 components: 1) a series of entrepreneurship workshops focused on learning entrepreneurship skills through a series of product design exercises; 2) a four-week summer product design internship during which student groups will work with an interdisciplinary group of faculty, regional entrepreneurs and the Fab Lab staff to prototype, test, and refine their idea; 3) an industry-centered pitch event for student groups to present their ideas to regional entrepreneurs and professionals who will provide feedback on student product prototypes; and 4) a follow-up academic year mentoring plan to help students develop their summer work into a portfolio, focus their career interests, or continue to develop their idea into an actionable business. Throughout the product duration, PDI will provide product design instruction to 60 students. During year 1, PDI will use an advisory cohort structure of 12 students, who will provide formative feedback on the program. During years 2 and 3, cohorts will expand to 24 students. PDI will advance the understanding of the efficacy of product design centered EET in improving communication and collaboration skills, fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and improving interdisciplinary knowledge. Results from NOVA PDI will provide insights into the integration of EET into technician education to strengthen critical skills.