A multidisciplinary business and engineering course in product development and entrepreneurship

Abstract

This paper describes the design and development of a multidisciplinary course that pairs business and engineering students on teams for the objective of developing a new small product. The course is team-taught by faculty from business, engineering, and engineering technology. The student teams are required to develop a product concept, an engineering design, and a business plan. The major deliverables for the course include: an intellectual property search, a project proposal, a market analysis, a product requirement specification, an engineering design, a financial plan, and a marketing plan. The course culminates with a business plan deliverable that integrates all of these elements.