Abstract:

The rapidly evolving global economy—characterized by accelerated technological change, automation, and shifting employment structures—has begun to challenge the traditional model in which graduates primarily aspire to secure stable job placements. While opportunities for employment remain important, the growing complexity of modern technological and societal challenges increasingly demands individuals who can innovate, create value, and generate new economic opportunities. In this context, entrepreneur-ship—particularly at the intersection of technology and engineering—has emerged as a critical pathway for translating technical knowledge into impactful ventures. Consequently, higher education institutions are being called upon to design programs that cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets, interdisciplinary prob-lem-solving abilities, and the capacity to transform ideas into viable enterprises.

Responding to these evolving global trends, this work presents the key highlights of a Master’s program in Engineering Entrepreneurship and Innovation that was relaunched in Fall 2025 at McMaster Universi-ty’s W Booth School of Engineering Practice & Technology. The program is designed to deliver a mod-ern curriculum supported by progressive and forward-looking pedagogical approaches, with excellence and equity, diversity, and inclusivity serving as foundational benchmarks. Since its reinauguration, the program has attracted strong interest, enrolling approximately 30 graduate students who were drawn to its distinctive approach to developing entrepreneurial skills and competencies within an engineering and technology context.

A defining feature of the program is its strong emphasis on work-integrated learning, which has signifi-cantly contributed to its popularity among prospective students. Through strategic partnerships with a di-verse network of community organizations and industry collaborators, students engage directly with ex-ternal partners to address authentically complex challenges related to corporate innovation and human-centric enterprise development. These collaborations allow students to apply theoretical insights to real-world contexts while developing practical entrepreneurial capabilities.

The experiential component of the program is anchored by an eight-month industry-engaged activity that forms the central learning experience. Preparation for this engagement is facilitated through a comprehen-sive course that provides students with an integrated overview of the essential considerations involved in launching and managing a successful engineering and technology enterprise, including innovation strate-gy, market validation, business modeling, and stakeholder engagement. Equipped with this foundation, students collaborate with industry and community partners to tackle intrapreneurial challenges identified by these organizations.

Students are given the flexibility to select from a range of real-world innovation problems proposed by external partners and work collaboratively to develop solutions over the eight-month period. Through this process, they gain valuable hands-on experience in entrepreneurial thinking, venture development, and in-novation management, ultimately preparing them not only to pursue employment but also to become crea-tors of new technological and economic opportunities.

Keywords:

Progressive Pedagogies, Engineering and Technology, Entrepreneurship, Intrapreneurship.