Campbell University’s School of Engineering was accepted as a Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) partner this summer, becoming one of only 45 KEEN schools in the country.
KEEN is a network of schools and faculty working to unleash undergraduate engineers so they can create personal, economic and societal value through the entrepreneurial mindset. KEEN members have access to conferences, partnership institutions and online communities where they can collaborate and access tools to help better their institutions. Other KEEN schools include Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Arizona State University, Villanova University and Olin College of Engineering.
“Campbell is thrilled to be a KEEN partner school,” Dean Jenna Carpenter said. “KEEN’s entrepreneurial mindset — which focuses on fostering a mindset of curiosity, connections and creating value in our students — is an ideal fit for us. With Campbell’s hands-on, project-based approach to engineering education, we utilize engineering design from the very beginning. That means we work every day to help foster curiosity in our students and to help them connect what they are learning to create value through innovative solutions.”
“We are excited to have Campbell join as the newest KEEN partner. Dr. Carpenter is recognized nationally as a leader in Engineering education and she is building a great team to guide the development of their emerging Engineering program and embedding an entrepreneurial mindset within,” said John Heathcock, Senior Director of the Entrepreneurial Engineering team at the Kern Family Foundation, which supports KEEN.
Carpenter said Campbell’s model from the beginning of its school in 2016 was to teach an entrepreneurial mindset in all its courses. She said the partnership with KEEN will extend the school’s impact to ensure it remains a learning organization that continues to innovate long after all the courses are developed and the first class of students graduate.
Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Mark Hammond said Campbell’s mission of “leading with purpose” also embodies the entrepreneurial mindset of KEEN.
“We’re focused on curiosity, connection and creating value,” Hammond said. “Our collaboration with KEEN is, therefore, a natural fit for us and one that helps us create the engineering leaders of tomorrow — prepared to solve 21st Century problems, with the goal of making the world a better place by leading purposeful lives and meaningful service.”