The Impact of Problem-Solving Studios on Entrepreneurial Mindset of Engineering Students

This research-to-practice full paper describes a study carried out to foster Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) in industrial engineering undergraduate students. EM is a unique combination of attitudes, habits, and behaviors that, when integrated with technical skills, empowers individuals to creatively solve problems, innovate, and create value across different contexts. In fostering an EM, active learning emerges as highly impactful as it has proven to be significantly more effective than traditional teaching methods, especially in engineering education. Unlike passive learning techniques, active learning prompts students to interact, fostering cognitive engagement leading to a proactive stance toward problem-solving and innovation. The Problem-solving studio (PSS) was designed with the objective of teaching students engineering ways of thinking and analytical problem-solving skills. PSS stands out due to its semester-long partnerships among students, absence of guided inquiry, negotiated roles, public problem-solving, and interaction with near-peer mentors, creating a distinct active learning environment. With the intention of developing an EM, an adapted PSS approach was used to teach Systematic Layout Planning in a facilities design course that is part of the senior year curriculum of an industrial engineering program. This approach was implemented sequentially for two cohorts using case studies. Cohort A engaged in a single case study at the conclusion of the fourth module of the course. In the subsequent year, Cohort B undertook three linked case studies, one at the conclusion of each of the first three course modules. Attainment of EM was evaluated through a quantitative assessment for each case study using a rubric. Additionally, qualitative surveys were employed to collect post-case study feedback. The analysis involved descriptive statistics of the quantitative data and a thematic analysis of the qualitative feedback. Overall, the study demonstrated that employing a PSS approach to teach Systematic Layout Planning fostered the development of students' entrepreneurial mindset and facilitated its transferability to different scenarios. Additionally, a notable mindset shift was observed in students accustomed to traditional learning methods. Lastly, based on the practices and artifacts utilized during the course and student comments on potential improvement, the authors discuss implications for engineering educators through success factors integral to fostering EM in industrial engineering students.