Women in Sustainability Series 2026 - "Teaching Students about Social Entrepreneurship within the Context of Sustainability" - Dr. Irene B. Mena
This webinar will describe a course that introduces engineering students to social entrepreneurship within the context of sustainability, at the University of Pittsburgh. The course focuses on three overarching topics: the concept of wicked problems, the concept of sustainability and climate change (as an example of a wicked problem), and social entrepreneurship.
The course has been very successful in its implementation, with consistently positive comments from students. This webinar will (1) describe the course objectives, course topics, and course assignments, (2) describe what has worked well and identify areas for improvement, (3) provide recommendations for other faculty interested in implementing a similar course or incorporating these themes into already-existing courses, and (4) summarize students’ perceptions of and learning within the course.
Everyone is welcome! Recording will be sent out after the event if you are interested but unable to attend in real time.
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- Starts 06 October 2026 03:00 PM UTC
- Ends 20 October 2026 04:00 AM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Biography:
Irene B. Mena is an Associate Professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science, with a secondary appointment in Industrial Engineering, and the Director of the First-Year Engineering Program at the University of Pittsburgh.
She has a B.S. and M.S. in industrial engineering, and a Ph.D. in engineering education. She has experience teaching programming, design, entrepreneurship, and sustainability topics, and has served as mentor to other faculty interested in incorporating sustainability into their courses.
