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McKenna featured in I-Corps for Learning video

Ann McKenna, director of the Polytechnic School, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

Ann McKenna, director of the Polytechnic School, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

Ann McKenna, director of the Polytechnic School, one of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, recently was featured in a video about the I-Corps for Learning project.

The project is an effort to use entrepreneurial skills and methods to create and scale educational innovations.

The project is based on the National Science Foundation I-Corps program, which uses business start-up strategies, like the Business Model Canvas and the Lean Launchpad, to build entrepreneurial skills and encourage mainstream application of emerging technologies.

McKenna talks about the change in how faculty members discuss their education projects after they begin the program.

“They’re acquiring a new language, if you will, in terms of the Business Model Canvas,” McKenna said. “They now talk about things like value proposition and how there’s a product-market fit. There’s an alignment of all the pieces that enable one to be successful, including your revenue streams or who your partners might be.”

Or watch the video here.

For the I-Corps project, the American Society for Engineering Education partnered with three universities: Arizona State University, Tufts University and the University of Minnesota STEM Education Center. (STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math.)

They developed educational innovations and a model for moving those innovations forward, including evaluating the market, creating a transition plan and listing tasks for success.

The eight-week program included an introductory three-day training session, five online sessions, and a closing two-day training session.

Each of 10 participating teams included an NSF-funded researcher with a project in undergraduate STEM education, an entrepreneurial lead, and a mentor.

Media Contact:
Judy Nichols, [email protected]
(480) 965-9248
Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering

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