NSERC - Chair in Entrepreneurial Engineering Design

The vision of the Chair is to enhance design in the Faculty of Engineering by developing an "entrepreneurial mind set" in our students and enabling them to design, build and test solutions to engineering problems in the context of validated market opportunities and business constraints.  An entrepreneurial mindset is essential for every design engineer who seeks to develop innovative products, as well as for anyone wishing to succeed as an intrapreneur or entrepreneur.

Technological intra/entrepreneurship aims at teaching engineers to be better agents of change, either within existing organizations or through new ventures. Entrepreneurship is relevant to all engineering disciplines and its integration with design engineering is an important differentiator for our students.

The Chair is structured around five core activities:

1. Effecting Curriculum Enhancements targeted at enhancing the current design engineering curriculum and strengthening linkages between design engineering, and entrepreneurship
2. Facilitating access to, and providing training within, Rapid Prototyping Facilities
3. Creation of a Client based design projects stream at the undergraduate level
4. Facilitating a Student internship program
5. Creation of a Master's in Entrepreneurial Engineering Design program

The intended outcome of the Chair's core activities is to improve the level and quality of design engineering by fostering and strengthening:

• Technical design engineering depth, by providing students repeated design opportunities (Curriculum enhancements, Master's in Entrepreneurial Engineering Design) throughout their program to design, fabricate and test products that meet a customer need (Rapid prototyping facilities, Client-based and multidisciplinary design projects , Curriculum enhancements).
• Customer awareness, by integrating customer discovery and validation in the design engineering process (Curriculum enhancements).
• Business acumen, through introduction to basic business concepts (Curriculum enhancements), exposure to industry (Internships, Client-based design projects), and advanced training in entrepreneurial engineering design for students interested in starting their own business enterprise (Master's in Entrepreneurial Engineering Design).

A number of courses related to Engineering Design and Entrepreneurship are introduced through the Chair:

GNG1103/1503 Engineering Design

A hands-on, team-based introduction to engineering design for engineers and computer scientists. Topics include design thinking, engineering design process, prototyping, engineering economics, safety, ethics and project management.

GNG2101/2501 Introduction to Product development

A hands-on, team-based introduction to product development and management principles for engineers and computer scientists and their impact on social and economic aspects of engineering practice. Topics include creativity and innovation product development process, engineering project management, market evaluation and identification, engineering economics, technology entrepreneurship.

GNG 4120/5120 Technology entrepreneurship for Engineering and Computer science

Hands-on introduction to the many dimensions of starting and growing a technology company. How to evaluate market opportunities, develop a product that customers need, raise capital and build a winning team. Skills and tools to turn technical ideas into profitable sustainable businesses.

Mohamed Galaleldin

I am taking a practical approach, using pedagogical components and teaching methods from academic entrepreneurship, and exploring how teaching engineering skills using entrepreneurial activities and assessment tools will impact their growth compared to the skills of other engineering students.

Majed Jarrar

I am looking at the impact of makerspaces and open innovation in general on engineering education. More specifically how makerspaces create a collaborative, hands-on environment for engineering design and for a community of practice for engineering students.

Client-based design is an all-encompassing opportunity aimed at engineering students who seek to apply their disciplinary knowledge to meet the real-life demands of the market.

The project’s intent is to cultivate the students’ design, application, and entrepreneurial skills by offering client-based challenges. The success of the  design project rests in the hands of its two main beneficiaries: the students, who will gain a crucial hands-on experience, and the sponsors, who will benefit from having fresh minds working on their projects.

Examples of such projects could include prosthetics design project that would include students from health sciences, mechanical engineering and engineering management students.

What's in it for students?

The overall intended outcome of Capstone is to improve the level of design engineering at uOttawa by fostering and strengthening students’:

• Technical design and engineering depths. This can be achieved through the provision of repeated design opportunities that demand planning, fabrication, and prototype testing to meet customer needs.
• Customer awareness. Students will be meeting with customers and tailoring according to their demands.
• Entrepreneurial insight. Students interested in starting their own businesses in the field will be introduced to essential business concepts as well as gaining advanced training in entrepreneurial engineering.

Sponsor a project

Client-based design projects will be relying on the sponsorship of pre-established organizations.

Sponsors interested in committing to design projects will gain the advantage of having fresh, hardworking minds working on their projects at a low cost.

These projects undergone by students will also be supervised by faculty experts to ensure proficiency.

If you would like to learn more about sponsoring a Capstone Project, contact Professor Hanan Anis.