Why Every Student Should Consider Engineering 310

At Penn State, innovation is not just for engineers. It is for anyone who wants to create, lead, and make an impact. That is the spirit behind Engineering 310: Entrepreneurial Leadership, a course that is open to all students across campus. Whether you are majoring in communications, business, science, liberal arts, or engineering, this class offers something transformative: the chance to design your future while learning the tools to build new products, services, and ventures.

Engineering 310 is more than a class. It is a launchpad. At its core, the course blends personal life planning, design thinking, and customer discovery into a powerful framework you can apply to your own career path. You will be challenged to think about what matters to you, how to align your strengths with opportunities, and how to map out a plan that is not just about getting a job, but about creating a life filled with purpose and direction.

One of the unique aspects of the class is its emphasis on design thinking, a problem-solving mindset that top companies like Apple, IDEO, and Google use every day. You will learn how to empathize with users, define problems clearly, brainstorm boldly, prototype quickly, and test ideas with real feedback. These are not just skills for inventors. They are skills for anyone who wants to innovate in business, nonprofits, education, or the arts.

But the course does not stop at theory. Through customer discovery, you will get out of the classroom and into the real world. You will talk to potential users, identify pain points, and see firsthand what it means to validate an idea. By doing so, you will learn that the best ideas are not dreamed up in isolation. They are shaped by real conversations with real people.

Engineering 310 also gives you hands-on experience in new product and service creation. Working in teams, you will take an idea from concept to pitch, developing the entrepreneurial skills that drive today’s most successful startups and organizations. Even if you never plan to launch a company, the ability to think entrepreneurially, to identify opportunities, rally people around a vision, and bring ideas to life will set you apart in any career.

What makes this course even more special is that it is part of Penn State’s campus-wide minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ENTI). That means you will be learning alongside students from every corner of the university. The diversity of perspectives enriches every project and conversation, creating an environment where a political science major, a biology student, and an engineer can team up to solve problems in completely new ways.

Ultimately, Engineering 310 is about ownership. Ownership of your ideas, your projects, and your path forward. It is about seeing yourself not just as a student, but as a creator, a problem-solver, and a leader. By the end of the semester, you will have a personal life plan, a toolkit of innovation skills, and the confidence to approach your future with clarity and purpose.

So, if you are ready to stretch yourself, to think bigger, and to take control of your next chapter, the opportunity is here.

Enroll in Engineering 310: Entrepreneurial Leadership. We are having an open house on October 15 in Classroom 226 from 4 pm to 6 pm. Come in and see our students presenting, stay for great food, and speak to alums of the class about their transformative experience. Stop on by and experience the class.