Tomorrow I will be traveling to the KEEN National Conference (KNC)! The KNC is a gathering of individuals interested in developing the entrepreneurial mindset (EM) in engineering students. During my time at OSU, I have been involved with KEEN (the network around EM) in a variety of capacities. I’ve been involved with grants, classroom implementation/curriculum development, and coaching after a summer workshop. While KEEN is very focused on undergraduate education, I have been able to apply what I’ve learned about EM to many aspects of my work including my research and work with graduate students.
My favorite part about working with this group is the people. I’ve met so many amazing faculty at institutions across the United States through KEEN. It has been extremely rewarding to get to know them and learn more about their programs, many of which are very different than our programs at OSU in terms of focus and size. It’s been wonderful to learn so much from them and develop collaborations and connections around and beyond EM. I’m looking forward to seeing so many familiar faces at the KNC and getting to meet new people as well.
One of the things I’m most looking forward to at the KNC is just being in person! I love the energy around an in-person conference and really missed that over the last few years. Hallway conversations can be some of the most important at conferences and those are very difficult to recreate in a virtual world. While being in-person for conferences is really exhausting in the moment, it is also really energizing as you come back to campus and think about all the new things you can try based on what you’ve learned. I’m looking forward to being tired after this event!