Getting to the Core of Entrepreneurship

Today’s undergraduate core curriculum isn’t the same old “one from Column A, two from Column B” selection that students made back in the day. These days, in addition to selecting classes that fulfill the requirements for their major, SCU students get to choose a Pathway, or cluster of courses with a common theme, that helps them study an area of interest from a number of disciplinary or methodological perspectives.

A popular choice among Bronco engineers is the Design Thinking Pathway, facilitated by Chris Kitts, director of the Robotics Systems Laboratory, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and KEEN (Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network) Program co-director. Courses in this area are offered by the College of Arts & Sciences, School of Business, and School of Engineering, providing a holistic approach to the development of new products and processes, emphasizing the creative, interdisciplinary synthesis of new systems that can lead to solutions for real problems. As Kitts says, “Design thinking may be applied to a vast range of problems, from designing a new consumer product, to adapting a device for low-cost and local production in the developing world, to solving global issues such as climate change and health care.”