The Student Engineers’ Council (SEC) has established the Texas A&M Student Engineers’ Council Engineering Entrepreneurship Excellence Fund. This endowment will support the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program in the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University, and its funds will be used at the discretion of the director of the program.
Abhi Dhillon, senior chemical engineering major and current SEC president, first heard about the Student Engineers’ Council during their career fair his freshman year. He soon joined the organization and served as chair of the SEC Career Fair before serving in his current position. Most recently, Dhillon has led the charge in the creation of the new entrepreneurship excellence fund.
The Student Engineers’ Council has an established tradition of generosity. In 2013, the SEC donated $1 million to the renovations of the Zachry Engineering Education Complex, and named the fourth floor of the building after their student organization. In 2019, the SEC created five new scholarships to benefit students in the College of Engineering. Dhillon and his fellow officers knew that it was time for another gift.
“The SEC executive committee began to look at supporting one of the college’s programs,” Dhillon said. “We spoke with Rodney Boehm, professor of practice and engineering entrepreneurship director, who taught us more about the Engineering Entrepreneurship Program. We saw that the program’s relevance to students outlived their undergraduate or even graduate degree program. Engineering entrepreneurship could teach them things that they could use 30 years into their careers.”
Many of the SEC students had already participated in engineering entrepreneurship’s largest functions like Aggies Invent, a 48-hour intensive design experience where students in multidisciplinary teams push their innovation, creativity and communication skills to compete for cash awards.
“Events like Aggies Invent are a tangible way that students can get out of their comfort zone and work with students in other disciplines,” said Dhillon.
In recognition of this gift, Aggies Invent will be renamed Aggies Invent powered by Student Engineers’ Council for the next three years. Dhillon hopes that this gift will bring more attention to engineering entrepreneurship from current students looking to stretch themselves outside the technical learning that happens in the classroom.
“We want the college to know that students care about engineering entrepreneurship,” Dhillon said. “We support it, and we believe in its mission enough to put money behind it. We truly believe that this program can change students’ lives while they’re in college and even after they leave Texas A&M.”