Simple Mockups : Tool to Enhance Visualisation and Creativity inEntrepreneurship Courses

The CDIO framework encourages us to work with prototyping during the conceive and design phases integrated into engineering education. At Linköping university, we apply prototyping and working with simple mockups in several entrepreneurship and innovation courses in order to stimulate creative thinking and experimentation. We have seen that through working with a joint prototype, the students increase their level of engagement and self-confidence while learning to know each other, both as individuals, and according to their skills and competence. Prototyping events are appreciated as learning activities, not least as they signal a culture of playfulness and unpretentiousness within a course. We have also seen that it is important to inspire the participating students to reflect on the event in order to complete the learning process. In the paper we analyse and discuss our experience regarding how and at what time in a course simple prototypes can be used, how workshops can be developed, and what we have learned