Engaged Curriculum Grants
The Professional Practice of Entrepreneurship
Taking an interdisciplinary approach to social entrepreneurship by creating an aquaponics system for growing organic vegetables and fish in Chile
Universities are often tasked with preparing undergraduate students for professional practice, but the worlds of the academy and the workplace are very different. This project bridges those worlds by offering students the experience of social entrepreneurship. Students combine their engineering knowledge with developing expertise in finance, marketing, management and cross-culture communication, all to create a functioning aquaponics system that produces organic vegetables and fish for local markets in Puerto Varas, Chile. The long-range plan is to help the village become more self-sufficient by generating an ongoing revenue stream. Students gain insight into how self-directed learning and interdisciplinary work are foundational to entrepreneurship, and in the process they begin to experience their professional selves.
Grant type: Development (2017-18, 2019-20), Planning (2016-17)
Topics: Economic Vitality and Entrepreneurship; Food and Agriculture
The Team
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Michael Ben Timmons, Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Rick Evans, Engineering Communications Program
College of Engineering
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John Sipple, Department of Global Development, New York State Center for Rural Schools, Cornell Community and Regional Development Institute
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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John Callister, Harvey Kinzelberg Entrepreneurship in Engineering Program
College of Engineering
- Community partner: Fundación Chile
- Community partner: SOS Children’s Villages
In the News
JANUARY 17, 2019
Teach Social Entrepreneurship to Engineers with a High-Stakes Overseas Project
– Course Hero website
Related Links
Engaged Curriculum Grants
Funding teams that are integrating community-engaged learning into new and existing curricula.