Concentration in Technology Innovation

The Technology Innovation Concentration instills an entrepreneurial mindset in BU’s engineering students, preparing them to recognize and exploit opportunities for technical innovations that can lead to viable commercial products and profitable businesses. These students epitomize the Societal Engineer, dedicated to using creative problem-solving skills and global awareness to solve some of society’s most pressing challenges. They benefit greatly from the concentration’s focus on understanding the innovation and entrepreneurial process from start to finish.

The three course, 12-credit concentration is open to all undergraduate engineering students. The concentration is noted on students’ official transcripts and will prepare students to work more effectively as engineers in any field and organization, and provides a launching pad for advancement into future management and leadership positions.

It is recommended that students interested in pursuing a Concentration in Technology Innovation declare their concentration as early as possible in their degree program in order to facilitate course planning, but in no case later than the start of the student’s senior year. Course requirements are found below, in addition to details regarding the required experience component.

Concentration requirements:

1. A sequence of three (12 credits) consisting of two required courses (8 credits) listed below and one course (4 credits) chosen from the list of additional courses.

Required Courses (8 credits):

• QST SI 480 – Business of Technology Innovation – 4 credits (offered both semesters, but recommended that it be taken in junior year). Note that students who take the course in the fall term are ineligible to use Senior Project to satisfy the Experiential Component.

• QST SI 482 – Strategy for Technology Based Firms – 4 credits (pre-requisite: QST SI 480)

Additional Courses (Choose one course – 4 credits). Students are expected to obtain the necessary background (prerequisites or equivalents) to complete their concentration courses. Any course required (by name/course number) as part of the major (excluding Technical/Advanced/Electives) cannot be counted toward the three courses (12 cr) required to fulfill the concentration:

ENG BE 428 – Device Diagnostics Design
ENG BE 468 – Clinical Applications of Biomedical Design
**ENG ME 502 – Invention: Technology Creation, Protection, and Commercialization
ENG ME 517 – Product Development
ENG ME 518 – Product Quality
*CAS IR 593 – Grassroots Finance in Africa and the Developing World
*QST SI 344 – Entrepreneurship: Solving Problems in a Dynamic World (formerly SI 444, some adjustments made to pre-reqs)
*QST SI 445 – Managing a Growing Enterprise
*QST SI 451 – Organizing for Design & Innovation
*QST SI 453 – Strategies for Environmental Sustainability
**QST SI 464 – Intellectual Property Strategies
*QST SI 471 – International Entrepreneurship
*QST SI 475 – Global Management Experience
*HUB XC 433 – Cross College Challenge (XCC) Projects

Students should check availability of courses each semester; not all courses are offered every semester.

Notes:

* QST SI 344, 445, 451, 453, 464, 471, 475; HUB XC 433 and CAS IR 593 cannot be used to satisfy a Technical/Advanced/Professional Elective.

** Students cannot receive credit toward the concentration for both ENG ME 502 and QST SI 464

2. Experiential Component: Completion of a well-defined experiential component in the technology innovation area. A laboratory research, industrial internship, senior design project or directed study can satisfy this requirement. This requirement must be approved by the Concentration Coordinator and the Experiential Component Proposal Approval form must be submitted to the Undergraduate Records Office. After its completion, a summary report of the experiential component must also be submitted for approval (see “experiential component requirements”, below). Note: The Experiential Component requires completion of SI 480 and approval prior to doing the experience.

Resources

• Concentration Summary Instructions
• Declaration
• Experiential Component Proposal
• Experiential Component Summary
• Experiential Component Senior Design Template
• Experiential Component Internship Template
• Multiple TIC Collaborator

SARA Complaint Process

Contact

Undergraduate Programs & Records Office: 617-353-6447 or engrec@bu.edu
Concentration Coordinator: Prof. Thomas Little (tdcl@bu.edu)