Launched in November 2025, the Special Interest Group (SIG) on Entrepreneurship in Engineering Education fully aligns with SEFI’s mission to enhance engineering education across Europe through collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity. Guided by values of creativity, responsibility, sustainability, and diversity, this SIG provides a strong foundation for integrating entrepreneurship and innovation as essential components of engineering education.
This new SIG takes a deeper dive into why entrepreneurship matters for engineers and how it can transform education.
Why is entrepreneurship important in engineering education?
1. Solving real-world problems
Engineering is fundamentally about solving problems. Entrepreneurship pushes students beyond theory into impactful practice, enabling them to:
- Identify unmet needs in society.
- Develop innovative solutions.
- Translate technical ideas into practical applications.
2. Fostering creativity and innovation
Traditional engineering emphasizes optimisation and analysis, while entrepreneurial thinking nurtures:
- Creative approaches to design novel systems.
- Risk-taking and experimentation.
- A culture of continuous improvement.
3. Driving economic and social impact
Entrepreneurial engineers contribute to broader societal goals by:
- Launching startups.
- Creating jobs.
- Driving technological advancement.
- Tackling global challenges like sustainability, healthcare, and energy.
4. Promoting interdisciplinary learning
Entrepreneurship prepares engineers to lead diverse teams and integrate knowledge from:
- Business (marketing, finance, strategy).
- Design thinking.
- Communication and leadership.
5. Career flexibility and empowerment
Students gain adaptability in a rapidly evolving job market through:
- Confidence to start ventures.
- Skills to pitch ideas and secure funding.
- A mindset embracing change and lifelong learning.
Objectives & scope
The SIG will focus on:
- Curriculum development – Embedding entrepreneurial learning through experiential modules (hackathons, incubators, living labs).
- Innovation ecosystems – Linking universities, startups, spin-offs, incubators, and industry.
- Research & assessment – Advancing research on entrepreneurial mindset and innovation competences.
- Policy & institutional strategies – Sharing best practices on institutional policies and funding mechanisms.
- Responsible innovation – Ensuring entrepreneurship addresses ethical, social, and environmental challenges.
Be part of a community of practice that empowers educators and institutions to integrate entrepreneurship into engineering curricula. Together, we can:
Equip students with the skills to innovate and lead.
Strengthen Europe’s competitiveness through responsible, sustainable innovation.
Drive employability and create opportunities for the next generation of engineers.
Founding members:
1. Asif Khan, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
2. F. A. Bukhsh, University of Twente, Netherlands
3. Fahad Sohrab, Tampere University, Finland
4. Mohib Ullah, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
5. M. M. Yamin, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
6. Marco Rossi, MathWorks
7. Susie Ye, Bentley Systems