When asked "Why engineering?", our students often express a desire to make a difference by improving the lives of others.
The College of Engineering at the University of Iowa is driven by talented faculty, staff, and students who are producing knowledge to address grand challenges around advanced technologies, health sciences, sustainability, energy, and the environment.
Our graduates are ethical, globally-aware citizens whose work while at the University of Iowa and throughout their careers make the world safer and our use of resources more efficient.
As a center of innovation and discovery, the people who make up the College of Engineering are undoubtedly improving quality of life for our Iowa community as well as for people across the United States and around the world.
Why We're In KEEN
KEEN’s mission aligns strongly with our strategic plans, both collegiate and university.
Across campus, entrepreneurial mindset (EM) is on display in various capacities. In the College of Engineering, the 3Cs have organically emerged in the curriculum. Consequently, our goal is to enhance the educational journey by integrating EM outcomes into our curriculum, student immersive experiences, and a broad spectrum of co-curricular or extra-curricular programs.
The three Cs complement our ongoing efforts towards addressing and supporting student learning (i.e., the Three Ms for Effective Learning: Mindset, Metacognition, and Memory), improving written and oral communication skills, and discovering and confronting ethical and societal dilemmas. These initiatives are also intended to reach all students regardless of their engineering major.
The Network's resources will empower us to further enhance our programs and promote student success. We look forward to contributing our expertise while benefiting from collective wisdom. By connecting skillset to mindset, we'll equip our engineers with the tools they need to succeed and find personal fulfillment in creating extraordinary value for others.
Current Work
IOWA Engineering’s work to implement EM across the college is initially focused on our first-year introductory engineering course, which couples a large lecture with small project-based sections to ground students in engineering problem solving and design. By explicitly embedding the three Cs into this course, we aim to engage first year students in EM thinking from the outset.
We further aim to build faculty and staff awareness of EM and the KEEN framework through workshops, lunch and learns, conferences, and communities of practice; and to connect with student groups to expand EM-focused opportunities and activities.
KEEN aligns especially well with the University of Iowa’s dedication to collaboration and interdisciplinary excellence. Our College of Engineering’s notable innovation in undergraduate education includes the importance of practical application for societal benefit, and KEEN’s entrepreneurial emphasis will greatly enrich our students’ learning and career opportunities.
