Hands-on experience is crucial for students seeking career success and meaningful contributions to society. Graduate students at Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering who want to work in the aerospace industry will have a new opportunity to gain this experience by immersing themselves in a hands-on learning environment where they can solve real industry problems.
The Polytechnic School, part of the Fulton School, will partner with Honeywell Aerospace Technologies to implement an incubator-style course led by Andrea Charman, assistant professor of technology entrepreneurship and management at the Fulton School.
Launching in the fall 2024 semester, the TEM 598 Technology Innovation Lab course will help graduate students from a variety of disciplines bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, preparing them for future success in a rapidly changing job market.
“This experience is important not only for the students, but also for Honeywell Aerospace Technologies,” Charman said. “Employees and students learn and grow from each other.”
Toinette Pérez-Treviño, incubation leader at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies and member of the Fulton Schools Technology Entrepreneurship and Management Industry Advisory Board, is excited about the opportunity to work with ASU students.
“Students bring different skills that are useful to the workforce,” Pérez Treviño says. “While specialists can have a narrow focus, this course allows them to find the right balance and complement each other.”
The Polytechnic University has previously collaborated with industry partners to create opportunities for students to receive hands-on training from the partners’ employees, and collaborations including this new course will also help foster intrapreneurship in students, teaching them how to work within companies and drive product development and business model innovation.
Beyond technical problem-solving, students learn how to market their solutions and develop business plans, developing their business acumen while earning credits toward their degree.
Under Charman’s guidance, participants in the Technology Innovation Lab classes will work with Honeywell aerospace technology experts to tackle challenges that reflect current trends and demands in the aerospace industry.
The curriculum is designed to be interdisciplinary, bringing together students from programs such as Aerospace, Mechanical Engineering, Human Systems and Electrical Engineering, Information Technology, Data Science, Robotics and Automation, and Tech Entrepreneurship and Management, with the aim of facilitating a rich exchange of ideas and perspectives. Through a series of workshops and direct collaboration with industry experts, students will not only develop technological solutions, but also learn how to address the complex tasks of bringing these innovations to market.
“A typical Kickstarter program lasts 100 days, with multidisciplinary teams working together to create a robust business plan, technical strategy, and minimum viable offering for a potentially huge, multi-million dollar opportunity, in close alignment with strategic technical requirements,” says Pérez-Treviño.
At the end of the semester, teams will be selected to spend an additional 100 days with Honeywell aerospace technology experts to further develop and bring their solutions to life, and Pérez-Treviño says all involved are excited to see the solutions that emerge from the class.
Julia Jenna, a doctoral student studying innovation in global development at Arizona State University’s School of Global Futures, participated in another incubator-style course led by Charman and would recommend it to her classmates.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to challenge the limits we often impose on ourselves, while also providing us with the material resources to understand different approaches to innovation,” says Jenna.
ASU students will have the opportunity to learn from industry experts at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies in a new course offered through the Technology Entrepreneurship and Management program in the fall. Photographer: Erica Gronek/ASU
