9/9/2024 Bethan Owen, Caroline Cvetkovic
Professor Caroline Cvetkovic is transforming traditional bioengineering lab courses at Illinois by integrating entrepreneurial and communication skills into the curriculum. In BIOE 303 and BIOE 306, students not only develop technical expertise but also practice pitching product ideas to non-technical audiences and writing press releases. These innovative approaches were highlighted in Cvetkovic’s presentation at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) conference. By teaching students how to communicate complex ideas effectively, Cvetkovic aims to prepare them for diverse careers, from technology commercialization to graduate school.
Written by Bethan Owen, Caroline Cvetkovic
Laboratory courses are essential to a good engineering education. Students can expect to develop practical skills, gain scientific knowledge, and learn the best methods to analyze and share their results. Traditionally, engineering students are evaluated based on assignments such as technical lab reports or lab practical exams. While these are essential skills for engineers, effective communication skills are becoming increasingly important as well. In BIOE 303 (Quantitative Physiology Lab) and BIOE 306 (Biofabrication Lab) courses, these skills might also include pitching product ideas to a board of investors, writing catchy news releases, or other creative communication strategies.
Professor Caroline Cvetkovic is making strides to introduce innovative communication methods and entrepreneurial innovation into bioengineering lab courses. In BIOE 306, students 3D printed devices to tackle real-world problems in neural engineering[CC1] . They then heard from the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) on the fundamentals of communicating to non-technical audiences through pitching. Finally, they were challenged to pitch their product in a Shark Tank-style presentation to a panel of experts in the field, emphasizing feasibility and value.
Cvetkovic recently presented this work at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference in the Experimentation and Laboratory-Oriented Studies Division. The paper, titled “Embedding the Entrepreneurial Mindset into Undergraduate Bioengineering Courses: Two Instructional Laboratory Case Studies[CC2] ”, was co-authored by Professor Keilin Jahnke, Sarah Lindley, and Bethan Owen.
In BIOE 303, students also competed with a product pitch after performing an independent physiology experiment and designing a hypothetical bioengineering-related device based on their results. Additionally, they practiced disseminating their results by writing a short press release (just like one might see on the Bioengineering News page[CC3] ) to tell the story of their project to a non-technical audience.
“I found myself enjoying the science communications units in BIOE 303 much more than I thought I would,” said student Anthony Chen. “To me, I felt that they taught us important life skills that extended beyond academia, like understanding an audience and fulfilling a ‘need’ felt by that audience, as well as how to sell something to a target audience.”
Chen’s winning group designed “Mocha Mist”, a product born out of the group’s experiment studying the use of caffeine and its effects on reaction time. After the data was collected, Chen described their group’s process: “We sought out a consumer base that would benefit from a faster reaction time. With our idea, we then spent a large amount of time reading studies that confirmed the viability of our delivery mechanism. We then shifted our focus towards marketing our product towards our customers. The remainder of our time was then spent on creating appealing visuals that ranged from vibrant slides to 3D modeled prototypes, as well as an engaging speech to sell our product to our panel of judges.”
Another group, Myosinc Athleisure, came up with an idea for compression leggings that facilitate muscle repair after injury by active sensing and recording of electrical activity using electromyograms (EMG).
By including creative assignments in her lab that are centered on effectively sharing ideas with diverse audiences, Cvetkovic hopes to help close the gap between science and communications. “Accessible information is so important for the public to gain understanding of complex topics. Lab courses are a perfect environment to practice entrepreneurial mindset and non-technical communication because they are hands-on and project-based, plus they usually produce results that can be shared,” said Cvetkovic.
The ability to share an idea with a broad audience that doesn’t have a scientific background can be the difference between capturing public interest or struggling to bring attention to a body of research. Similarly, sharing scientific knowledge in a relatable way can help students land jobs or education opportunities. It’s often especially important for engineers who are frequently developing new solutions to existing medical problems. Explaining those results to the average person in a way that gets them engaged and excited can be vital for funding and public support.
“These skills are important for so many different careers, within and outside of engineering,” said Cvetkovic. “They can prepare students for senior design, graduate school, technology commercialization, or industry projects. It’s always important to be able to explain your research or invention to an investor, a funding agency, your boss, your representatives, and your community.”
Cvetkovic and Jahnke will present another paper, “Empowering Future Engineers by Integrating Science Communication Into Undergraduate Labs” at the upcoming Frontiers in Education (FIE) Conference in October 2024.
[CC2]https://peer.asee.org/47232
[CC3]https://bioengineering.illinois.edu/news