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WMU professors have been the driving force behind the greater emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship within the classroom. From designing the only ABET-Accredited Industrial & Entrepreneurial Engineering (IEE) program, to forming the newly classified Entrepreneurship major, they are dedicated to bringing I&E to university students.
Within IEE, the professors collaborate to bring a set of courses (Entrepreneurial Engineering I, II, & III) to guide students through the different stages of the product design and development cycle. Other focuses of the courses include the business canvas and the hypothetical layout of the manufacturing facility needed to build that product. Even within the Intro to Mechanical Engineering course, the professor teaches students an indroduction to design thinking, and has them apply it to hands on projects.
This is the same within the Management Department, as professors seek out entrepreneurship projects for their students. These projects typically stem from the engineering college; the management students are to apply their business expertise to help expand these entrepreneurship efforts. Generally, the professors are also the first ones to encourage students to participate in competitions and workshops, such as the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition and the Michigan Collegiate Innovation Prize.
Within the Mechanical Engineering Department, the seeds has been planted as more classes are starting to introduce students to the concepts of innovation. In Introduction to Mechanical Engineering, students are given multiple projects in addition to their coursework. The projects generally incorporate concepts learned in class, but in a real world setting, not only showing students how applicable their knowledge, but giving the students room to be creative and take their projects in whatever direction they choose.
The main push for entrepreneurship within the Haworth College of Business has come from Dean Kay Palan. She created the '''Endowed Chairs for Entrepreneurship''' team, consisting of Dr. Robert Landeros (department chair) and three entrepreneurs in residence (John Mueller, Barclay Johnson, and Laurel Ofstein). All three come from an impressive background of entrepreneurship experience.