KEEN 2020 Annual Report

25 NETWORK CONNECTIVITY Dr. Ken Bloemer https://engineeringunleashed.com/profile/view/1533 SPOTLIGHT ON CULTURE Ten Ways for New KEEN Partners to Get Started and Veteran Schools to Keep Sharp Over the past decade, the University of Dayton’s Dr. Ken Bloemer has seen KEEN grow from a handful of partner schools to 50. Additional schools are integrating Entrepre- neurially Minded Learning (EML) into engineering pro- grams on their own at an accelerating rate. Bloemer offers “10 Tips” to help schools new to KEEN or EML quickly involve faculty and staff who can integrate ideas from the KEEN framework into the campus culture. Among his key insights are (for full details, read Ken’s story https://engineeringunleashed.com/content/story- 10-tips-for-KEEN-schools): 1. Be dedicated. 2. Shout it in the hallways. 3. Discover and contribute best practices through Engineering Unleashed. 4. Be ready with the answers. 5. Train the trainers. 6. Onboard the newbies. 7. Motivate regularly. Of particular note are Bloemer’s calls for systemic ap- proaches and urgency: 8. Create advocates throughout. Think strategically about the influencers who impact the majority of your faculty and students, and make sure they are well-versed in EML. For example, the University of New Haven designated an influential faculty member in each engineering discipline as an “EML Champion.” The Champions present KEEN-related materials and events at departmental meetings. The Champions also look for opportunities to infuse department courses with EML, pro- viding ideas, training, and assistance to faculty as needed. 9. Sharpen the saw. Even as EML programs on your campus mature and suc- ceed, don’t rest on your laurels. KEEN continues to grow. Engineering Unleashed almost daily offers new content filled with quality classroom materials, new concepts, case studies, and exercises. You need to ensure your team stays at the top of their game. For example, University of Wisconsin-Platteville provides monthly seminars in their “Teaching with Impact” series. 10. Fan the flame. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, 41% of Gen Z’ers plan to become entrepreneurs and 45% say they will in- vent something world-changing. Indeed, there’s a plethora of survey data about Gen Z’s entrepreneurial spirit. This is inspiring news for the EML movement! Let’s meet students where they are and nurture their budding entrepreneur- ial mindsets with exciting, relevant course content and experiences. Bloemer advises, “Remember the overall key is to win the hearts and minds of faculty and staff. You may not get them all, so put your effort into the open-minded early adopters. Do whatever you can to incentivize their efforts and publicly recognize their accomplishments. It also helps to align faculty reward systems with EML achievements. The University of Dayton recently approved a revised pro- motion and tenure process that recognizes, among other things, innovative teaching practices, work with industry and community partners to bring authentic learning expe- riences to the classroom, and EML in general.” School of Engineering Ambassador students work together on KEEN and EM social media posts on the plaza outside of Kettering Labs.