TEC - Courses - Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

I am a freshman. Can I take one of the introductory courses?

I am a sophmore. What TEC courses can I take?

I am an upperclassman (junior/senior). Which of the TEC courses should I take first?

As a graduate student, do I need to be enrolled in GE's Masters or Ph.D program in Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering to take a TEC course? If not, which one should I take first?

I am thinking about going to law school - I have heard patent law is a good career option for engineers. Are there any TEC courses that would be good preparation?

I don't think I want to start my own business. I plan to get a job as an engineer working for a company, but I am definately interested in moving into management later on. Are there any TEC courses that are useful to me?

I am a freshman. Can I take one of the introductory courses?

Unfortunately, freshman are not eligible to take TEC courses. We hope to see you in one or more of our courses during the rest of your college career.

I am a sophmore. What TEC courses can I take?

If you are a student in General Engineering, GE 161 - Introduction to the Business Side of Engineering - is a required course for you, and a good place to start. GE 161 is also open to sophomores from other departments and colleges. In fact, 50% of the students enrolled in this course are non-GEs. This is a very popular class!

Sophomores also occasionally enroll in GE 498 LLH - Entrepreneurship Lecture Series. This one-credit course introduces students to some of the basic issues associated with entrepreneurship and technology commercialization generally, but some of the content provided in the assigned texts and in the presentations given by our guest lecturers may be beyond the typical sophomore's present academic preparation. As lectures from previous semesters are available on our website, interested sophomores (and even juniors) might do well to review some of these lectures and evaluate their difficulty.

I am an upperclassman (junior/senior). Which of the TEC courses should I take first?

If you are a GE student, you will already have taken GE 161 - Introduction to the Business Side of Engineering . If your major is in a different department or college, or if you are a student with a general interest in entrepreneurship or commercializing technology, but not much previous exposure to any content in this area, you may wish to start with GE 498 LLH - Entrepreneurship Lecture Series. This one-credit course introduces students to a broad spectrum of the most basic issues associated with entrepreneurship. Guest lecturers discuss topics like: the elements of a business plan, the types of financing that are available and how to get them, how to convert a technology into a product, what market analysis consists of, how to commercialize a technology coming out of a university, what are necessary leadership skills ... and much, much more. Students in that course often enroll in other TEC courses subsequently, in order to pursue their interests in more detail.

Students interested in more in-depth coverage of building a technology-based business specifically may wish to start with GE 498 TE1 - Technology Entrepreneurship I . In this course, students actually write and present a business plan over the course of the semester, and compete for prize money in the V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition.

As a graduate student, do I need to be enrolled in GE's Masters or Ph.D program in Systems and Entrepreneurial Engineering to take a TEC course? If not, which one should I take first?

Graduate students from all departments in the College of Engineering are welcome to take TEC courses; you do not need to be enrolled in the S.E.E. Masters or Ph.D. program.

Unlike undergraduates, graduate students have many more choices in terms of the TEC course they may wish to take first. Many graduate students do choose to take GE 498 LLH - Entrepreneurship Lecture Series - if they have had no previous exposure to any technology business, commercialization or entrepreneurship issues. Graduate students who know they are interested in working for a research and development laboratory in industry may prefer to start with GE 598 BAV - Managing Advanced Technology in Industry . This course looks with more specificity at the unique concerns associated with that business context. (Please note that this course IS a prerequisite for GE 598 BV - Case Studies in Managing Advanced Technology in Industry)

Your best bet is to read the course descriptions available on this website, and decide which course's content best matches your interests, professional goals, and academic preparation. If you have more specific questions about particular courses, our faculty members who teach the courses are always happy to respond to questions by phone or e-mail.

I am thinking about going to law school - I have heard patent law is a good career option for engineers. Are there any TEC courses that would be good preparation?

Many of the TEC courses address legal themes. Two courses in particular that you may want to consider are GE 400 - Engineering Law and GE 598 JPK - Legal Issues in Entrepreneurship . If you are a GE student, GE 400 is a required course. But it is open to undergraduates from any college or department. It provides undergraduates with their first exposure to general legal principles with which all engineers should be familiar, including contracts, torts, products liability, intellectual property, administrative and regulatory law. It also provides a general overview of the operation of the American legal system. It satisfies the university's advanced writing requirement, and provides the opportunity to read, brief and analyze actual cases. Students in GE 400 also write a 10-12 page research paper on a legal topic of their choice.

GE 598 JPK is a graduate-level course (cross-listed with Law; seniors can petition the instructor to enroll) that examines legal principles affecting entrepreneurship in more depth. Some of the concepts covered in the course include choice of entity for doing business, commercial transactions, patent and trademark law, financial documents (such as term sheets in venture financing), labor and employment law.

These two courses provide excellent background for an engineer considering the legal profession as a career, or one who simply wants greater familiarity with the law.

Yes, there are. All TEC courses emphasize the commercial context in which technologies are developed, and many of the same principles apply, whether these technologies are being developed in a start-up company or an existing enterprise. Having said that, however, there are some concerns that are unique to each type of entity, and we have courses that focus on both.

If you have no exposure whatsoever to entrepreneurship or technology commercialization, we suggest you start with GE 498 LLH - Entrepreneurship Lecture Series. From there, courses that might be of interest to you would include GE 598 BAV - Managing Advanced Technology in Industry, and its sequel, GE 598 BV - Case Studies in Managing Advanced Technology in Industry (each of these courses is only 1 credit hour), and GE 598 IS - Technology Innovation and Strategy . Students who wish to pursue the financial aspects of technology commercialization in more depth would benefit from GE 598 FEM - Finance for Engineering Managers . Each of these courses is taught by individuals with undergraduate degrees in engineering, coupled with graduate degrees in engineering, business or law, as well as years of experience in private industry dealing with issues associated with commercializing technologies. For more information on either of these courses, please consult their respective webpages, or e-mail the instructor with your specific inquiries.