Lean Collaboration on Campus? A Social Network and Bricolage Approach

Benefits of interdisciplinary student participation in a university’s entrepreneurial activities are well known. Still, institutional barriers (structural, temporal, spatial, economic, attitudinal) conspire to block participation. Aided by the NSF’s Pathways to Innovation Program, the authors conducted a field experiment to increase STEM student participation in a high-profile business proposal competition (BPC). The experiment employed two interventions: informal social networks and bricolage – the innovative and parsimonious use of existing resources. Utilizing these interventions, the authors collaborated to innovatively exploit the Business College’s BPC and Engineering College’s capstone engineering projects course (CEP). The goal was to facilitate and track STEM students’ BPC participation. Participation was voluntary, and not graded. Participation in the BPC increased from 10 STEM students to 27 and the number of BPC finalists increased from 1 STEM-business interdisciplinary team to 4 following the intervention. Findings demonstrate that social network and bricolage-inspired intervention appear useful in increasing STEM student and interdisciplinary team BPC participation and success.