General Questions
Q: Is entrepreneurship only important if I want to start my own business?
A: Our mission is to help students explore the mindsets of entrepreneurs and the different ways they impact the world. The entrepreneurial mindset can benefit anyone — from an employee in a large multinational corporation to someone working in a nonprofit or starting their own business. The foundations of entrepreneurship, like a deep understanding of business and societal problems, iterative learning and relentless focus are important no matter what you do.
Q: Do I need to be a current Texas A&M student to participate?
A: Yes. Meloy Engineering Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program participants need to be current students at Texas A&M University in College Station.
Q: How is EEP related to the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship?
A: Texas A&M has a wide range of entrepreneurship and innovation programs available to students. The leaders of the McFerrin Center and EEP work closely to make sure students are connected to relevant opportunities offered by each program. Specifically, engineering students regularly participate in the Raymond Ideas Challenge and Aggie Pitch, two programs offered by the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship.
Q: Can this program help me build a prototype?
A: Our focus is to introduce you to areas of business — such as customer research, understanding competitors and market segmentation — outside of the topics covered in your core engineering curriculum. As such, we don't focus on building prototypes and encourage you to seek out help in your department and the SuSu and Mark A. Fischer ’72 Engineering Design Center.
Q: What financial resources are available to help me with my startup?
A: Please consult the Grants and Funding page.
Certificate Program Questions
Q: What is a certificate program? How is it different from a minor?
A: The Engineering Concept, Creation, and Commercialization (C3) Certificate provides students with the training and experience to develop their ideas, create/design solutions to solve customer needs and understand the process of commercializing developed solutions. The program focuses on developing an entrepreneurial mindset, which will be valuable to students as they become employees of companies or creators of their own startups. Students from any engineering major may find great value in the knowledge and skills this certificate promotes. The certificate is presented by EEP, which offers a range of engagement opportunities to complement in-class learning.
Q: Can I just take one or two classes instead of the entire certificate curriculum?
A: Yes, please try out one of our classes. If you like it, there are a lot more.
Q: Do any of these classes count toward my degree plan?
A: Some of our courses are cross-listed with engineering departments. Please check with your advisor.