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1. Innovation Practices: Co-Creation in Technology Sectors in North American Cities

   Katlyn Turner, Kristi Acuff (October 2023, Proceedings of the International Astronautical Congress)

   The process of technology design and innovation directly shapes society and who benefits or is burdened by said technology. This project is a descriptive and explanatory research undertaking aiming to understand innovation practices in specific tech sectors–space sector, robotics, and urban energy–in two North American metropolitan areas: Greater Boston and the Detroit Metro. This study analyzes co-creation facilities and living labs in these technical and geographic domains and aims to understand what innovation practices these organizations are using, why they are using these practices, what their standards of success are, and why. The role of cultural embeddedness, geographical embeddedness, and technological embeddedness is examined in this project as well as that of inclusive innovation as a concept and practice. In order to address these research aims, a mixed methods approach is used for data collection–including stakeholder interviews, site visits, and technical analysis. Data is analyzed using a systems architecture and enterprise architecture framework. This paper focuses on the space sector in Greater Boston, both in comparison to other previously analyzed sectors in the region—robotics, urban energy, and biotechnology, and in reference to other important space innovation hubs in the United States. In particular, we focus on a comparison of innovation objectives and stakeholders, and how this informs the types of innovation practices used in these regions. 

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2. WIP: Industry 4.0 Robotics - An Interdisciplinary Approach to Deep Learning

   https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE61694.2024.10893360  

   Williams, Chad A; Wang, Haoyu; Kurkovsky, Stan; Hou, Xiaobing; Sharp, Ryan (October 2024, IEEE)

   This innovative practice work in progress paper describes an interdisciplinary course, “Industry 4.0 Robotics,” aimed at fostering deep learning and innovation in students across Manufacturing, Robotics, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Networking, Cybersecurity, and Technology Management. The course, jointly taught by faculty from different domains, emphasizes interdisciplinary connections in Industry 4.0 (IN4.0) Robotics through a combination of lectures, real-world insights from industry guest speakers, and hands-on interdisciplinary project-based learning. The contribution of this work lies in its innovative approach that combines proven best practices in education, inspiring deep learning, and an appreciation of interdisciplinary teamwork. The course design builds upon education research on the benefits of leveraging student creativity and requirements engineering practices as learning tools that allow students to develop a deeper understanding. While the benefits of these practices, commonly cited for developing enhanced problem-solving and cognitive flexibility skills, are becoming well understood in many individual disciplines, far less has been published on best practices for achieving this in interdisciplinary thinking. This course design explores this through using hybrid experiential problem based learning and project based learning for students to develop an understanding of interdisciplinary challenges and opportunities. While the benefits of individual educational practices have been studied within specific disciplines, this work extends the understanding of these practices when applied to interdisciplinary challenges, such as those encountered in Industry 4.0 robotics. The course design aims to bridge the gap between the technical aspects of individual disciplines and the social dimensions inherent in interdisciplinary work. This work in progress seeks to share early results showcasing the benefits of interdisciplinary teamwork and problem-solving. By articulating observations of commonalities and differences with prior work within individual disciplines, the paper aims to highlight the unique advantages of this interdisciplinary learning experience, offering insights into the potential impact on student learning. The chosen approach stems from the anticipation of future challenges increasingly necessitating interdisciplinary solutions. The goal of this work is to understand how best practices from individual disciplines can be effectively incorporated into interdisciplinary courses, maximizing student learning, and uncovering unique learning outcomes resulting from this innovative approach. The course design intentionally bridges the gap between the technical aspects of individual disciplines and the social dimensions inherent in interdisciplinary work, to encourage effective communication and collaboration within mixed student teams. While this remains a work in progress, initial observations reveal a heightened interdisciplinary curiosity among students, driving deep learning as they explore the interconnectedness of their own discipline with others within their teams. This curiosity propels self-led exploration and understanding of how their expertise intersects with diverse knowledge areas, creating opportunities for innovative solutions at these disciplinary intersections. This work contributes to the broader landscape of engineering and computing education by offering insights into the practical application of interdisciplinary learning in preparing students for the complex challenges of Industry 4.0. 

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3. What Have We "Learned" from Maker Education Research? A Learning Sciences-base Review of ASEE Literature on the Maker Movement

   Weiner, S.; Lande, M.; Jordan, S.S. (January 2018, Review & directory - American Society for Engineering Education)

   Within the last ten years, the Maker Movement has had a significant effect on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Growing in tandem with the interest in makerspaces, digital fabrication technology, and innovation-oriented curricula has been researchers’ desire to understand the pedagogical value of these efforts. Strategies have included measuring technological literacies, uncovering the links between Maker practices and professional engineering standards, and developing standards to capture the non-technical skills, such as self-efficacy and persistence, that Makers develop. The diffusion of Maker Education research has worked in favor of constructing diverse kinds of knowledge, but at the expense of developing coherent theory, pedagogy, and practice. Even within Engineering Education, the aims, theoretical approaches, and methods used to study Maker Education vary widely. Given that a significant body of literature has been amassed, we believe it is an opportune time to take stock of what has been learned through Maker Education research. As an initial step towards a larger multidisciplinary study, this paper will focus on assessing the state of Engineering Education literature on Maker Education and synthesizing it with theoretical frameworks established within Learning Sciences research. 

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4. Expand Underrepresented Participation in High-Tech Start-Ups.

   Ivanitzki, Teddy; Johnson Rashida (February 2023, 2023 Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration (CIEC))

   CIEC panel (Ed.)

   Abstract: When starting small businesses, particularly in high-tech sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins, or the Internet of Things (IoT), women and underrepresented minority groups face additional hurdles in securing funding and investment. Not only is such a discrepancy in investment socially unjust, but it deprives the US of the advantages in innovation and global competition that could stem from the widening participation of the underrepresented population in innovative sectors. Although targeted support to women and underrepresented minority-owned businesses is being provided by the federal government and the private sector, more remains to be done to close the investment gap. The US Small Business Administration (SBA, 2013) provides more than $3.5 billion in funding to over 5,000 startups per year through its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Moreover, the Small Business Act provides these programs with a mandate to target women and underrepresented minority groups. Despite this mandate from SBA, only 15% of those funds went to minority-owned companies (SBA, 2013). Funding opportunities from the private sector tell a similar story. Diversity VC, a non-profit partnership promoting diversity in Venture Capital, reported in 2019 that in a comprehensive survey (Azevedo, 2019) of around 10,000 founders receiving venture capital backing, only 9% were women and a mere 1% were Black. In order to i) accelerate innovation and increase participation of under-represented minorities in start-ups of “new industry”, and ii) to ensure US competitiveness in the global market, in 2010, the National Science Foundation (NSF) introduced the Small Business Postdoctoral Research Diversity Fellowship (SBPRDF) program and selected the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) to administer the program. In recognition of ASEE’s successful performance in meeting the objectives of the SBPRDF program, in 2019 NSF/IIP (Industrial Innovation and Partnerships) program leadership selected ASEE to administer the Innovative Postdoctoral Entrepreneurial Research Fellowship (IPERF) program. The overarching goal of the IPERF program is to emphasize and strengthen the entrepreneurial development of underrepresented Fellows. The IPERF program also aims to advance best practices in postdoctoral programs and impart cross-disciplinary expertise in the application of new technologies like AI and IoT in “new industries” based on bioengineering and biochemistry technologies. 

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5. Work in Progress: Developing an AI-Enhanced Immersive Curriculum for Environmental Robotics

   https://doi.org/10.1109/EDUNINE62377.2025.10981342  

   Peterson, Eric; Bogosian, Biayna; Vassigh, Shahin; Murad-Reis, Gregory; Polyzou, Agoritsa; Narula, Bhavleen Kaur (March 2025, IEEE)

   A convergence of technology advancements including spatial computing, augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI) can now support the personalization of learning environments and dynamically respond to learner performance data with personalized feedback. Augmented Learning for Environmental Robotics (ALERT), leverages advances in technology to research, develop, and test an augmented reality-enhanced (AR) curriculum for learning how to develop and use robotic environmental monitoring tools for collecting data on environmentally sensitive construction sites. With this project, our research team aims to develop the ALERT curriculum as an immersive learning environment, implement automation processes that dynamically adjust to learner performance, and address a pressing problem in the construction sector with recent advances in small robotics and remote sensing. 

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