In Print: ‘Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset in Engineering Students through a Perspective-Taking Approach’

Publication title

Developing the Entrepreneurial Mindset in Engineering Students through a Perspective-Taking Approach: A Toolkit for Curriculum Development, Assessment, and Dissemination

Purdue author

Lisa Bosman

Authors

Lisa Bosman
Katey Shirey
Stephanie Fernhaber

Publisher

Springer Nature

Publication date

February 2026

About the book (from the publisher)

This book reminds university engineering faculty, staff and administration of the compelling need to better prepare engineering education students for the workforce by developing an entrepreneurial mindset. To meet the need, this book provides an evidence-based approach to transform engineering education using an integrative and perspectives-taking approach, coupling the entrepreneurial mindset with bio-inspired design and arts integration to improve engineering retention, completion and job placement rates. As efforts continue to expand participation in STEM, particularly within engineering, it has become increasingly clear that faculty must teach in ways that foster engagement and inclusion. Yet many engineering educators receive limited pedagogical and scholarly preparation, making it difficult to support diverse learners and strengthen pathways into engineering. This gap underscores why an integrative, perspectives-taking approach is needed to deeply engage students in learning the entrepreneurial mindset.

This book provides engineering faculty with a peer-mentoring toolkit, including six tools that can be used to develop a new perspectives-based curriculum that enhances students’ entrepreneurial mindset. The toolkit can also be used to implement and assess the curriculum and disseminate findings via teaching and learning. Ideally, improved teaching causes engineering undergraduates to develop the entrepreneurial mindset in their careers, thereby increasing the quality of the future workforce. The work has a direct impact on engineering education faculty members, who now have the tools to transform their classrooms; graduate teaching assistants; and undergraduate students, who now have access to a new curriculum.

About the Purdue author

Lisa Bosman is an associate professor of technology leadership and innovation. Before joining Purdue Polytechnic, Bosman worked as a manufacturing engineer for world-class companies like Harley-Davidson, John Deere and Oshkosh Defense. Bosman is the founding director of iAGREE Labs (Inclusive, Applied, and Grounded Research in Entrepreneurially-Minded Education), which aims to empower action through real-world solutions and evidence-based practices.

About the In Print series

To celebrate our faculty’s excellence in scholarship, Purdue Today’s weekly book series highlights faculty expertise across diverse subjects and disciplines. Find out more about the Purdue University Books Initiative and how to suggest a book for the In Print series on the Office of the Provost website. Purdue University’s Libraries and School of Information Studies’ authored books collection is available here.