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The NSF S-STEM-funded program titled Fostering Leaders in Technology Entrepreneurship (FLiTE) hosted by the School of Engineering+Technology at Western Carolina University has now completed its second year of operation. The program aims to create graduates who bring impactful contributions to industry employers or create new businesses with their own original technology innovations. FLiTE has continued its mission to cultivate entrepreneurial and growth oriented thinking among financially needy engineering and technology students. With the first and second-year classes aboard, the program currently serves eighteen students. Program activities for the 2023 calendar year included the induction of a newly recruited class, connection with campus resources and veteran entrepreneurs, and scholar participation in a formal pitch development course. Pre- and post-year surveys were completed by the scholars to characterize personal perceptions of their initial and developing aptitudes toward the entrepreneurial mindset. This paper describes the cohort teaming sessions, invited speakers, informal and formal pitch presentations, and survey results from the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters. Summary results show improvement in scholar perceptions of entrepreneurial dimensions entrepreneurial targeted by program interventions. Findings from these activities may inform the curriculum at Western Carolina University and the content of similar entrepreneurship programs.
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This content will become publicly available on June 1, 2026
BOARD # 371: Fostering Leaders in Technology Entrepreneurship (FLiTE): S-STEM Program Third Year Progress
The NSF S-STEM-funded program titled Fostering Leaders in Technology Entrepreneurship (FLiTE) hosted by Western Carolina University has now completed its third year of operation. The program continues its mission to cultivate the entrepreneurial mindset and growth-oriented thinking among a cohort of engineering and technology students with the goal of creating graduates who become growth-oriented professionals and entrepreneurs. With the onboarding of its second-year recruiting class, the program has begun to observe the productive interactions of its vertically integrated cohort. Program activities for the 2024 calendar year have included a team-based pitch development program, scholar participation in an externally facilitated certificate course in business startup logistics, and the integration of scholar’s product ideas into the Project-Based Learning curriculum of the host department. This paper describes each of these program highlights. As the scholars progress in their degrees with some nearing the Flight phase of the program, the dynamics of integrating the scholars’ work into their degree curricula are addressed. Pre- and post-year surveys assessing scholars’ perception of their entrepreneurial selfefficacy are summarized, showing a positive trajectory.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2130326
- PAR ID:
- 10659639
- Publisher / Repository:
- ASEE Conferences
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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