Speaker: Sudhir Khetan | Bioengineering | Union College

Coauthor: Jennifer A. Currey | Bioengineering | Union College

At a liberal arts school such as Union College, science/technology/engineering/math (STEM) students do not have many opportunities to be exposed to the concept of the entrepreneurial mindset, from the perspective of both technology development (e.g., ideation and creativity in the design of a new technology and user-focused design), and technology commercialization. This mindset is particularly important for bioengineers, who work in a highly interdisciplinary field that combines concepts from the physical and biological sciences, as well as other engineering disciplines. It is therefore critical that today’s bioengineering undergraduates develop a strong entrepreneurial mindset to effect innovation in the field. To address these issues, we have developed a new two-term Capstone Design experience for our senior Bioengineering majors.</p>

In the first of the two terms, completed in March 2014, teams of four students selected and designed a device to alleviate a specific medical problem experienced by a patient of the Center for Disability Services (CDS) in Albany, NY. The second term, currently underway and ending in early June, will allow the teams to continue refining and prototyping their designs with input from the users at the CDS. Supplementing the project work will be workshop-themed lecture content, from guest speakers with the relevant expertise, on topics related to translation and clinical impact of new medical devices or technologies. These topics include regulatory and insurance hurdles, as well as technology commercialization. Finally, in keeping with the tradition of a strong liberal arts education at Union College, the program emphasizes excellence in both written and oral communication. Students are required to assume the role of principal investigator at least twice per term, and provide project updates via PowerPoint presentations and written memos.

We believe this program will foster the professional development of our students as they prepare to entire the bioengineering field.