Innovation and Entrepreneurship Director - Penn Engineering

University Overview

The University of Pennsylvania, the largest private employer in Philadelphia, is a world-renowned leader in education, research, and innovation. This historic, Ivy League school consistently ranks among the top 10 universities in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey. Penn has 12 highly-regarded schools that provide opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education, all influenced by Penn’s distinctive interdisciplinary approach to scholarship and learning. As an employer Penn has been ranked nationally on many occasions with the most recent award from Forbes who named Penn one of America’s Best Large Employers in 2023.

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The University offers a competitive benefits package that includes excellent healthcare and tuition benefits for employees and their families, generous retirement benefits, a wide variety of professional development opportunities, supportive work and family benefits, a wealth of health and wellness programs and resources, and much more.

Posted Job Title

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Director - Penn Engineering

Job Profile Title
Director C, Academic Affairs, Academic Administration

Job Description Summary
The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Director will support the strategy, development and execution of programs under the purview of the Vice-Dean of Innovation & Entrepreneurship including the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program. Shape new curricular and co-curricular activities to transform engineering education and in particular develop real-world skills and an entrepreneurial mindset to complement the technical skills in traditional curriculum. Connect with professors, design courses and co-curricular activities and work closely with the Executive Director of Corporate Engagement to partner with companies on this endeavor. This position requires a proactive, self-motivated individual with the ability to independently learn, take initiative and to shape new programs within the engineering context.

Job Description

Job Responsibilities

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program Strategy and Development

• Work closely with the Vice Dean of Innovation & Entrepreneurship to develop and execute the strategic vision for innovation and entrepreneurship programming within Penn Engineering.
• Identify opportunities to develop new programs that complement students’ technical education with real-world skills and an entrepreneurial mindset.
• Research emerging trends and best practices in engineering entrepreneurship, innovation education, experiential learning, and workforce preparation.
• Develop new initiatives from concept through implementation, including defining objectives, audiences, resources, partners, and measures of success.
• Evaluate existing programs and recommend enhancements, new approaches, or areas for expansion.
• Proactively identify opportunities and needs and independently develop solutions and programs to address them.

• Gather and analyze feedback from students, faculty, alumni, and corporate partners to inform program development.

Curricular Development & Faculty Engagement

• Partner with non-EENT faculty to develop and enhance courses and curricular experiences focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, product development, and other real-world skills starting with the Materials Science & Engineering department.
• Identify faculty across Penn Engineering and the University who can contribute to innovation and entrepreneurship education within their core classes.
• Work with faculty to translate ideas and emerging areas of interest into compelling educational experiences for engineering students in core non-EENT courses.
• Develop new course concepts, modules, workshops, and other curricular offerings that complement the traditional core engineering curriculum.
• Facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and identify opportunities to integrate entrepreneurship and innovation into existing academic programs.

Co-Curricular & Experiential Program Development

• Design and implement co-curricular experiences that give students opportunities to apply entrepreneurial and innovation skills outside the classroom.
• Develop workshops, speaker programs, competitions, and other experiential-learning opportunities.
• Create opportunities for students to engage directly with entrepreneurs, alumni, industry leaders, investors, and technology innovators and manage the mentorship program for students.
• Develop programming that exposes students to real-world problems and helps them build skills in areas such as customer discovery, communication, teamwork, leadership, product development, and commercialization.
• Assess student participation and outcomes and continuously improve programming based on feedback and results.

Corporate & External Partnerships

• Work closely with the Executive Director of Corporate Engagement to identify and develop opportunities for companies to participate in innovation and entrepreneurship education.
• Build relationships with companies and external partners to host companies identified as “Leaders in Residence” to support the design of their curricular and co-curricular activities within the school including site visits, internships and speaking engagements.
• Cultivate relationships with entrepreneurs, alumni, startups, investors, and other members of the innovation ecosystem who can contribute to student learning, mentorship and program development.
• Help develop mutually beneficial models for sustained corporate participation in curricular and co-curricular programming.

Engineering Entrepreneurship Program support

• Oversee Program Coordinator for EENT and provide guidance and support to her activities

• Provide strategic and programmatic support for the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program and its portfolio of curricular and co-curricular activities.
• Work with program faculty and staff to ensure that existing offerings align with the broader Innovation & Entrepreneurship strategy for Penn Engineering.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen connections among courses, certificates, minors, fellows programs, experiential opportunities, and other entrepreneurship initiatives.
• Develop new pathways for undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students to participate in innovation and entrepreneurship programming.
• Support efforts to increase the visibility, reach, and impact of Engineering Entrepreneurship across Penn Engineering.

Program Awareness

• Support the agenda and materials for the bi-annual BoTIE meeting

• Build awareness of innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities and help create a stronger community among students, faculty, alumni, entrepreneurs, and industry partners.
• Collaborate with communications and other Penn Engineering teams to showcase programs, student experiences, and outcomes.

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, technology or a related field; advanced degree preferred, and seven to ten years of professional experience in innovation, entrepreneurship, engineering, product development, technology commercialization, industry engagement or a related area or an equivalent combination of education and experience.  Demonstrated experience developing and launching new programs in a complex organization. Strong understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship, including such areas as opportunity identification, customer discovery, product development, commercialization, venture creation and/or innovation within established companies. Demonstrated ability to work effectively in complex organ