Integrating entrepreneurial activities in chemical engineering education: a case study on solid waste management

Abstract

Solid waste management is considered to be one of the fastest growing industries in the world because of the environmental and health considerations, limitations on mining operations, product costs, increasing demands on the new materials, products and supply chains. Also, entrepreneurship has emerged as a critical aspect of engineering education with various disciplines worldwide. The objective of this work is to share the recent educational experience that integrates entrepreneurship into one course of the Degree in Chemical Engineering of the University of Granada and how the entrepreneurial activities develop an entrepreneurial mindset in chemical engineering students. The paper contains some strategies for internalising entrepreneurial spirit. The originality is mainly due to the coupling of waste management and entrepreneurship learning for increasing entrepreneurial skills in chemical engineers specifically. The study was carried out among chemical engineering students who participated in the ‘Solid and Gaseous Waste Treatment’ optional course. Mainly, a qualitative research method was adopted. The primary data for the evaluation of entrepreneurial activities were collected with validated questionnaires distributed to students. The results of this study indicated that the entrepreneurial activities contributed to the introduction of entrepreneurial skills in students. Pre/post testing to determine changes in entrepreneurial mindset was also analysed. © 2019 SEFI.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Behavioural skills Higher education entrepreneurship chemical engineering solid waste management

Index Keywords

Engineering education higher education Students Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurial skills Educational experiences Surveys Chemical engineering students Entrepreneurial activity Waste treatment Supply chains Chemical engineering Solid wastes Behavioural skills Qualitative research methods

Author Affiliations

Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Granada, Spain

Funding & Acknowledgements

European Commission, EC

Funding text 1: The author would like to acknowledge the efforts of undergraduates students of ‘Solid and Gaseous Waste Treatment’ course of Chemical Engineering Degree of the University of Granada whose commendable contributions have made this research possible.; Funding text 2: In this work, the tool Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP) was used ( http://entrepreneurialskillspass.eu/ ). This tool was chosen because the questionnaire is translated into several languages, required a short time (around 20 minutes) and is accessible through an online platform. The ESP project has been funded with support from the European Commission, under the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. The self-assessment tool where students are involved in the entrepreneurial experience reflects their own entrepreneurial competences as they progress through the course. Students need to register and create an account before taking the self-assessment questionnaire (pre-course). When the course was finished, they completed the self-assessment questionnaire (post-course) again.

Universidad de Granada, UGR

Funding text 1: The author would like to acknowledge the efforts of undergraduates students of ‘Solid and Gaseous Waste Treatment’ course of Chemical Engineering Degree of the University of Granada whose commendable contributions have made this research possible.; Funding text 2: In this work, the tool Entrepreneurial Skills Pass (ESP) was used ( http://entrepreneurialskillspass.eu/ ). This tool was chosen because the questionnaire is translated into several languages, required a short time (around 20 minutes) and is accessible through an online platform. The ESP project has been funded with support from the European Commission, under the Leonardo da Vinci Programme. The self-assessment tool where students are involved in the entrepreneurial experience reflects their own entrepreneurial competences as they progress through the course. Students need to register and create an account before taking the self-assessment questionnaire (pre-course). When the course was finished, they completed the self-assessment questionnaire (post-course) again.

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Integrating entrepreneurial activities in chemical engineering education: a case study on solid waste management

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