Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
MGT-555 / 10 credits
Teacher(s): Michaud Véronique, Weber Thomas Alois
Language: English
Withdrawal: It is not allowed to withdraw from this subject after the registration deadline.
Remark: Inscription nécessitant l'autorisation préalable des enseignants
Summary
This course is a joint initiative between the School of Engineering and the College of Management to encourage and promote entrepreneurship and management skills, engineering design, hands-on experience, teamwork, and awareness of social and ethical implications in engineering and management.
Content
The material is taught in four modules, including Systems Engineering, Product Design Principles, Business Economics, and Prototyping Practice. A key component of the course consists of a team project, usually conducted in collaboration with an industry partner, addressing a significant commercial need and/or societal issue. Lectures will be given by domain experts. The first part of the course focuses on product design. Students will be working in multidisciplinary teams to define a product concept, draft a prototype and propose a plan for product commercialization. At the conclusion of the course, the projects will be entered in a prize competition, judged by a panel of industry experts and faculty.
Topics include: Design Criteria * Modularity * Project Planning * Lifecycle Analysis * Investment Criteria * Real Options * Electric Circuits * Reliability Engineering * Materials * Robotics * Software Development * Intellectual Property * Machining, 3D printing and Assembling a Prototype * Environmental Sustainability * Ergonomics
Keywords
Business economics, product design, systems engineering, technology commercialization, hands-on practice
Learning Prerequisites
Required courses
To be able to register for this course, instructor permission is required. For this, students are asked to prepare a 1-page motivation statement, to be sent per email by September 5 at the very latest to the course coordinator (ru.zhang@epfl.ch).
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Translate specifications into product design
- Assess / Evaluate the economic viability of product at different development phases
- Manage the production of a prototype
- Develop a plan for the commercialisation of the product
- Translate specifications into product design
- Assess / Evaluate the economic viability of product at different development phases
- Manage the production of a prototype
- Develop a plan for the commercialisation of the product
Transversal skills
- Communicate effectively, being understood, including across different languages and cultures.
- Evaluate one's own performance in the team, receive and respond appropriately to feedback.
- Set objectives and design an action plan to reach those objectives.
Assessment methods
- 40% Presentation
- 50% Report/prototype
- 10% Collaboration
Supervision
| Office hours | No |
| Assistants | Yes |
| Forum | Yes |
In the programs
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional
- Semester: Fall
- Number of places: 50
- Exam form: During the semester (winter session)
- Subject examined: Innovation & entrepreneurship in engineering
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Project: 8 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Type: optional