This paper describes an independent study course at an undergraduate college that immerses an interdisciplinary team of six students in a consulting role. Two professors guide the direction taken by the students, a third professor coordinates students’ involvement in a related research project, and an outside “client” directs the team toward local economic development. Students come from backgrounds in engineering, social sciences, natural sciences, and the humanities. The consulting “contract” specifies the economic incentives for the work, and also steers the class toward the technological areas that present a fit for development and entrepreneurship. The region targeted for development is one where a once-healthy mining industry is in severe decline. The technology identified for entrepreneurial investment involves green-powered low-speed transportation. The paper describes the year-long progress of the team and the project goals. As the United States emerges from what some have termed the great recession, courses of the type described in this paper offer students the chance to be involved in the kind of activities that help to grow the economy.
Title
Students as consultants: A project course combining entrepreneurship and green technology
Hornfeck, W. A. (2010) "Students as consultants: A project course combining entrepreneurship and green technology." ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition Proceedings. Paper 920.