Using Narrative Inquiry to Assess Research Outcomes of Biomedical Engineering Entrepreneurial REU Undergraduate Students

Today's research in the biomedical engineering field focuses heavily on translational science, which works toward the ultimate goal of transforming research into tangible benefits to human health, including medicine, medical devices, and clinical practices. As translational research grows, programs are emerging that encourage undergraduate students to develop the skills and attributes required to assist with the transfer of basic research to bedside, including opportunity recognition, customer discovery, teamwork, and persistence through failure. These skills are also inherent in individuals that have an entrepreneurial mindset, which focuses upon generating solutions that create value for individuals, the community, and society. In Summer 2023, the first iteration of a summer research experience for undergraduates (REU) program focused on entrepreneurial mindset development (eREU) was piloted at three institutions with 2-3 eREU students per program. Each eREU student was paired with a university-affiliated company working on translational medical devices and processes for 10 weeks, with the goal of furthering development of entrepreneurial and translational research skills such as opportunity recognition, making interdisciplinary connections, and persistence in the face of challenge. To understand the impact of entrepreneurial experiences, current research often utilizes quantitative measures, which does not capture students' lived experiences. It has been suggested that a reliable way to understand lived experience is through a qualitative methodology known as narrative inquiry, in which participants tell their personal stories from their perspective, a method that is underused in engineering education research. Through narrative inquiry assessment and analysis of 17 participants' narratives, including 8 eREU and 9 traditional REU students, we found multiple themes that point to students developing promising translational research skills and attitudes. Students have developed the ability to recognize and take advantage of opportunities, overcome challenges, have grown to understand themselves and others in new ways, and sought connections between their engineering experiences and their real lives. Future work should capitalize on students' reflections on their experiences to increase the body of literature supporting translational research experiences for undergraduate engineering students, especially through qualitative measures like narrative inquiry.