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Since 2014, the Silesian University of Technology (Poland), at the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science has developed an autonomous measurement platform, enabling the performance of physical and chemical analyses in water reservoirs. Students from various fields of study (Automation, IT, Chemistry, Environmental Engineering) learn to work in interdisciplinary teams by carrying out various tasks. These tasks are carried out in cooperation with experts being representatives of other science fields or representatives of industry. Students were asked to improve and optimize the platform functionality as well as recognise the possibility of commercialising the final product. Namely finding potential customers for the platform and determining the direction in which the platform should be developed so that it could find stakeholders. Students encountered many problems, such as, standardised measurements or practical obstacles, which prevented effective cooperation with potential business clients. This approach helped students participating in STEM education to realise that a good and interesting project in their discipline does not ensure success in the business sphere. Often, market expectations are different to what the product creators imagine, which makes it difficult to introduce innovative products to the market. Recognition of customer expectations can help to change the approach to the developed product, its properties and the approach to its commercialisation, as shown by the conclusions of the survey on the expectations of potential customers. By implementing the discussed engineering project, students acquired many skills that are the basis of entrepreneurial thinking, such as the ability to make decisions in changing conditions, self-assessment of their actions, communication skills and cooperation in a group. All these new or improved skills resulted in increased motivation to continue acting and approaching new engineering challenges with a focus on new, innovative solutions. Fundator badań: Optional.empty |
