Voiland CollegeThe Frank Institute

Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs Today

The Harold Frank Engineering Entrepreneurship Institute is a multidisciplinary program made up of junior and senior engineering, communications, and business students who are interested in technological entrepreneurship.

The Frank Entrepreneurship Program (FEP) offers students:

  • The opportunity to experience how innovation moves from idea to sustainable realization;
  • The tools to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas;
  • Mentorship in the creation of their own startup company;
  • Experiences, connections, and growth in entrepreneurship.

Working in interdisciplinary teams, students learn to manage uncertainty, design, perfect their presentation skills, work with real fiscal and technical constraints, and develop technologies to solve real problems.

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Expectations

Frank Entrepreneurs are expected to perform professionally in the classroom as well as serve the Cougar community. Specific commitments that will be asked of you:

  • Complete the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp course (ENGR 320).
  • Participation in a set of “on-campus” activities to include lectures, interviews, and experiences in local businesses and research laboratories organized by The Harold Frank Engineering Entrepreneurship Institute the week following the end of the spring semester.
  • Participation in a set of off-campus activities the second week following the end of the spring semester. The program will provide travel expenses, housing, and meals.
  • Return to the WSU campus the Friday before the Fall semester begins to participate in planning activities.
  • Enroll in the two-semester capstone courses, ENGR 420/421, your senior year.

Value

The Frank Entrepreneurship Program provides engineering, business, and communication students the opportunity to grow their entrepreneurial skills through the creation of a start-up company.

Courses

Frank Entrepreneurs will be given preferential placement in the courses that make up the “entrepreneurial track” of studies within the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture.

Spring Semester:
Entrepreneurship Boot Camp Course (ENGR 320)

This introductory course is offered spring semester for students of junior standing. This is an introduction to the various facets of entrepreneurship, including developing your own entrepreneurial mindset, how to be a successful contributor in a startup environment, how to capture and communicate your ideas, and how to discover your own passion for building a technology venture or establishing your own startup.

Fall Semester:
Multidisciplinary Engineering Design I (ENGR 420)

Part 1 of a yearlong multidisciplinary, team-based senior design project experience for senior students interested in an entrepreneurial focus for developing engineered solutions of value for customers. Students will form their own teams, discover and pursue their passion, and research their own ideas for a senior design project.

Spring Semester:
Engineering Senior Design II (ENGR 421)

Part 2 of a yearlong multidisciplinary, team-based senior design project experience. Students will learn how to apply the entrepreneurial mindset, critical thinking, and the various interdisciplinary skills within their team to investigate, research, propose, and create a compelling plan for a product or service of the student’s design. Hardware or software prototyping will be required. Course topics, learnings, and generated materials may be applicable for the launching of a startup, if desired, by the student team.

Activities

Details of the academic year activities for the entrepreneurship program vary depending on opportunities and current events. The following are typical:

Business Plan Competition

All students will be expected to apply to and, if selected, participate in the annual WSU Business Plan Competition that is sponsored by the Carson College of Business and judged by external referees. Other pitch competitions will be promoted during the year for extra credit or added experience.

Entrepreneur Interviews

Students will participate in interviews with multiple industry leaders throughout the year. Students will be given the opportunity to ask questions directly of these executives and get to know them and learn insights into their successes or failures.

Summer Program

The program offers many opportunities for students to stay engaged in entrepreneurial studies, even during the Summer.

On Campus

On the Pullman campus, students spend a week learning a variety of skills that provide them with a firm foundation in entrepreneurship. Focus areas include:

  • Visits with local Angel Investments, Startups, and IP legal firms
  • Marketing seminars
  • Business etiquette
  • Building a professional profile
  • Oral communication boot camp
  • Research companies that will be visited

Field Trips

Following the initial week in Pullman, students head to a center of innovation and product development. Tours include:

  • Informal interactions with entrepreneurs
  • Networking opportunities
  • Bank, Angel and Venture Capital Funding information
  • Founder, CEO, and corporate attorney interviews
  • Company operations from the inside

Past visits have included Google, Tesla, Facebook, HP Labs, BWise Vineyards, Coherent, and Alta Devices.

Support Entrepreneurial Studies

To learn more about how you can support entrepreneurial studies, contact: