Technology-Based Entrepreneurship Course at STEI ITB
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id — People often perceive undergraduates of the Electrical Engineering program as product creators, oblivious to its commercialization. Turns out, that assumption is incorrect. For ITB’s Undergraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, at least, the students will encounter a course titled “Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Engineering,” with the code EL4244.
Through said course, students are guided to construct an innovative technology-based idea, in line with the real world demand, therefore creating a certain product of superior quality.
In this lecture, innovation and entrepreneurship is of unity. STEI ITB, especially the Undergraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, realized the importance of both aspects and developed a course to train students in the field of entrepreneurship. The course is also characterized by its collaborative nature, with students of other study programs participating. The course is integrated with ITB’s Electrical Engineering program final year assignment (thesis) in the form of capstone design. The course generated business ideas for real life issues in need of resolution.
Afterwards, in capstone design, students are challenged to work in teams and solve an engineering problem together with their colleagues which may focus on a contrasting field of work. Effective and agreeable communication is a central precondition for this final assignment. Capstone design itself has been running for 11 years at ITB’s Undergraduate Program in Electrical Engineering, and has become an exemplar for many engineering courses.
The utilized framework in course EL4244 is based on the 24 steps disciplined entrepreneur developed by Professor Bill Aulet from MIT, which has produced many innovation and technology based startups. The course is taught by Arif Sasongko, Toronata Tambunan, and Salman Subakat (CEO of Paragon Innovation and Technology). The course is supported by industries in the form of funding and coaching clinics. Every group is assigned a mentor, who will provide inputs in order to sharpen the mentees’ ideas.
The course will conclude on the pitching stage, which will be attended by industry players and venture capitals. There are ten groups with all presenting technology-based business ideas. During EEDays 2022, 14th June 2022, five out of 10 pitchers obtained funding from investing parties. During the defense session of this course, the CEO of Paragon, Salman Subakat, announced that the business ideas will be drawn out further along the lines of practical work, final assignment, and other taught courses through an MBKM scheme.
This lecture and the constructed scheme will be continuously developed. Hopefully, many more entrepreneurs will emerge and by the following year, many more students from other study programs might gain access to this course.
Source: STEI ITB Release
Translator: Firzana Aisya (Bioengineering, 2021)
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