Industrial design as a tool for enhancing entrepreneurship

Abstract

The entrepreneurial spirit is currently considered as the engine of a more dynamic industrial society. Creativity, as well as the capacity to take new initiatives, are fundamental values for students, with these capacities being increasingly in demand by companies. However, despite the importance of developing these skills, subjects in the technical field do not include activities that contextualize theoretical knowledge in the entrepreneurship field. This paper presents the results of a set of activities related to the development of entrepreneurial capacity in students of mechanical engineering by means of new activities related to the business field in the development of new mechanical designs. The designs developed have been planned as technical solutions to problems of some industrial companies. The design results have been presented in the form of prototypes. In a parallel manner, the students have complemented the product development project with a product business model. The results obtained show an increase in the capacity of transferring industrial knowledge from the classrooms to the industrial environment as well as a growth in motivation on the part of the students who have carried out the innovative activities related to entrepreneurship in design.