Sciknow Publications Ltd. PSBR 2014, 2(3):80-84 Psychology and Social Behavior Research

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1 Sciknow Publications Ltd. PSBR 2014, 2(3):80-84 Psychology and Social Behavior Research DOI: /psbr Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) Interdisciplinary Team Learning Talent Cultivation in Taiwanese Higher Education: A Case Study of Interdisciplinary Team Participation in an Entrepreneurship Competition Wei-Chen Yang 1,*, Chia-Chun Lin 2 1 Department of International Business, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan City, Taiwan R.O.C. 2 Department of Creative Product Design, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan City, Taiwan R.O.C. *Corresponding author ( anni@mail.stust.edu.tw) Abstract - With the development of competitive trend in global industry, companies are seeking to increase competitiveness and interdisciplinary integration to solve the competition dilemma and pursue opportunities for industrial innovation. In higher education, Babson College initiated innovation and entrepreneurship, which developed and flourished at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Innovation and entrepreneurship courses have experienced a boom in popularity amongst the universities and colleges in Taiwan. The research investigated interdisciplinary learning among the student teams. Those teams were composed of students from the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology. The focus was on, how interdisciplinary student teams developed and work to accomplished tasks during entrepreneurship competitions was also investigated. The team not only garnered successive awards in Taiwan, but was awarded first prize of the Young Entrepreneurs of the Future. Keywords Interdisciplinary, Talent Cultivation, Entrepreneurship Competition 1. Introduction In response to the growing industrial competition worldwide, enterprises have increasingly emphasized interdisciplinary integration to improve their competitiveness, resolve competition dilemmas, and seek opportunities for industrial innovation. Fostering interdisciplinary talent has become a development trend for training future talent. The Ministry of Education (MOE), Taiwan, established MOE Regulations for Subsidizing Universities and Colleges to Implement Interdisciplinary Degree and Credit Programs. Budgets have been allocated for the programs since The MOE encouraged universities and colleges to establish interdisciplinary degree or credit programs for cultivating talents required by industries and society. After the implementation of the program, more than 50 schools have been approved for the subsidy. Higher education regarding innovation and entrepreneurship originated from Babson College and was promoted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In Taiwan, such education has resulted in a trend of innovation and entrepreneurship competition among college students. To establish the university industry cooperation, innovation, and entrepreneurship mechanisms, the MOE promoted the College Graduates Entrepreneurship Service Plan (U-START Plan) to increase the entrepreneurial opportunities for college graduates by using the flexibility of microenterprises and assistance from cultivation centers, thereby stimulating university industry cooperation and promoting the innovation and entrepreneurship culture in campuses. Based on the promotion of these regulations and plans by the MOE, incubating interdisciplinary talent and promoting campus-based innovation and entrepreneurship culture have become prevalent. All universities and colleges train interdisciplinary cooperation teams to participate in international and domestic innovation and entrepreneurship competitions. Through review, competition, and resource and budget subsidies, the schools have implemented interdisciplinary cooperation and cultivation of talent in individuals who exhibit innovation and entrepreneurship. Based on this background, this study investigated the case of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology during their establishment of an interdisciplinary student team and the learning process. We explored the process through which an interdisciplinary student team participated in entrepreneurship competitions, how the team developed and completed tasks, won numerous awards in Taiwan, and won first prize at an international young entrepreneur competition.

2 Psychology and Social Behavior Research (2014) Literature Review 2.1. Interdisciplinary Research According to Przeclawski (1993), interdisciplinary research explores a specific problem from diverse academic fields. In interdisciplinary research, scholars from different disciplines form a research group, describe the problem, and provide a professional theoretical basis based on their respective disciplines. The researchers must attain high involvement, commitment, and consensus regarding the research project. (Przeclawski, K., 1993) A team is a multidimensional concept, which is defined as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. (Jason, M. A., 2000). Interdisciplinary teams comprise undergraduate students from various disciplines, which forces the students to solve a common problem by creating new knowledge and theories that traverse disciplinary boundaries, including interdisciplinary integration.(tress, B., Tress, G., & Fry, G., 2006). Parker (1996) contended that interdisciplinary teams unite members with diverse skills, which possibly improve their ability to solve complex problems. This type of teamwork can effectively improve the research and development of new products.(parker, G. M., 1996) 2.2. Competition Learning An American philosopher and educator, John Dewey, proposed the concept of learning by doing. He believed that direct and concrete actual experiences are the true learning processes. Dewey said To learn from experience is to make a backward and forward connection between what we do to things and what we enjoy or suffer from things in consequence. Under such conditions, doing becomes a trying; an experiment with the world to find out what it is like; the undergoing becomes instruction discovery of the connection of things. Thus, in actual teaching activities, teachers should enable and encourage students to perceive and actively explore the surrounding environment. Through an alternative trying and experiencing process, the students learn from new cognitive methods and results.(wu mu Kun,2009) Experiential learning was derived from learning by doing and represents the idea of learning through practice and reflection. This education model involves a hypothesis that active participation in problem-solving processes engenders optimal learning effectiveness. In addition, the model is an interactive process between teachers and students and between the topic and environment, coordinating equivalent importance between teaching content and processes and indicating that each teaching process is a shared opportunity for teachers and students to learn.(fengs Chia University Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Development, Contest learning of concept and application, home page.) The Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Development of Feng Chia University defined competition learning in an article entitled Concept and Application of Competition Learning on their official website: Pedagogical methods include various methods such as class lectures, discussion and exploration, case teaching, competition learning, and professional internships. Competition learning requires knowledge integration and produces effective practice second only to that of professional internships after conducting market testing in real environments. In addition, competition learning is most effective for knowledge integration. Especially in university education, competition learning substantially bridges the gap between school knowledge and actual practice in society. Competition learning has recently become prevalent in Taiwan. Innovation and entrepreneurship competitions establish simulated(quasireal) environments where participants can personally experience decision-making processes and operations identical to those in real environments; such events foster learning effectiveness inside (innovation and entrepreneurship) and outside (team competition process) the competition. Therefore, universities and colleges in Taiwan establish interdisciplinary teams to participate in numerous innovation and entrepreneurship competitions. Competition learning is a new method for experiential learning. 3. Case of an Interdisciplinary Team Participating in Competition Learning 3.1. Team Background and Goal To train students in the aspects of teamwork, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship and to increase their occupational competitiveness, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology has actively promoted interdisciplinary cooperation. The case interdisciplinary team in this study comprised students from the College of Digital Design and the College of Business and was supervised and directed by Dr. Chia-Chun Lin from the Department of Creative Product Design and Dr. Wei-Chen Yang form the Department of International Business. The students of the Colleges of Digital Design and Business have established a team since The goals of the team are as follows: (1) The interdisciplinary team implements product design and operation planning through cooperation between disciplines. During the process, the students collaboratively create concrete knowledge for solving problems that exist in real situations. (2) Interdisciplinary cooperation encourages a dialogue between different disciplines. The process of cooperating with team members from other disciplines enables students to solve extensive, complicated problems. (3) Applying interdisciplinary concepts into design enables designers cooperate with specialists of diverse disciplines, thereby generating multiple ideas for solving problems.

3 82 Psychology and Social Behavior Research (2014) (4) The interdisciplinary team discusses and implements creativity research and development, innovation, production, channels, and branding. Subsequently, in the simulated (quasireal) environment of various competitions, the students in the team can experience decision-making processes and operations identical to real situations to achieve product innovation and attain the learning effectiveness of collaboratively creating market values as a team Implementation Methods and Steps The case team was composed based on a project. When the project concluded, relevant members returned to their original positions. The composition and implementation of the team was as follows (Execution flow chart): Feedback Competition team formation Creative product introduction Creative product implementation and project draft Evaluating and revising the project draft Completing the project proposal and creating ppt Establish the competition goals and confirm the division of work based on knowledge. Phase 1: First meeting between members and creativity sharing. Phase 2: Confirm the mode of operation for the competition team. Creative product analysis (phase learning goal of business students). Phase 1 1- Basic concept course (e.g., theory of design, basic composition, and history of design). 2- Design practice course (e.g., sketching, computer graphics, and animation). 3- Comprehensive design course (e.g., project design, design management, and design composition). Phase 2 1- Outsource the production of creative products (self-created). 2- Planning and creative development of the project draft. 3- Evaluate the feasibility of the project draft. Task objective: After establishing initial project drafts for physical creative products, students experience the possibility of realizing creativity and the difficulties encountered during product implementation. Evaluation content: 1.Experiential responses regarding the creative product (questionnaire survey). 2.Product characteristics and project qualitative evaluation (expert assessment). Evaluation target: Different group comparison (consumers, producers, sales personnel). Data collection: Interview and experience response assessment. Revise briefing data according to the project proposal and create an animated brief finally, form a brief integrated with videos and sound. As shown in the Fig.1.Execution flow chart, during the competition team formation phase, the members must confirm the operating model and division of work of the team. The team members from different disciplines initially communicated with each other and divided the work to reach a consensus regarding the operating method of the team. Consolidating the goal facilitated teamwork. Fig. 1. Execution flow chart 資 料 蒐 集 : 訪 談 體 驗 反 應 評 量 The case team adopted an interdisciplinary cooperation model to creatively present creative design products. The team also considered consumer needs and created values for consumers. By combining creative product design and marketing projects, students can learn the methods for increasing the added value of products by using innovative business marketing modules and developing interdisciplinary

4 Psychology and Social Behavior Research (2014) cooperation and communication abilities The Effectiveness of the Interdisciplinary Team The students of this interdisciplinary team have attended various large-scale creative entrepreneurship competitions. Such experience facilitates the cultivation of entrepreneurship and enables the students to experience the fantastic appeal of creativity and innovation. The students can reverse traditional business values and enjoy the multiplier effect of agglomeration and value-added knowledge. Table 1 shows the achievements of the team after participating in various competitions and exhibitions: Table 1. The achievements of the team after participating in various competitions and exhibitions Date Competition and Exhibition Achievement April 2011 Take off Dream Originality and Innovation Contest Excellent work May 2011 China and Taiwan bilateral Interscholastic International trade Simulation Merchandise Show Contest Exhibitors plan () Products will be published (Excellent work) Exhibition booth Design (Excellent work) Business Communication (Ranked fifth) May 2011 Sixth Dragon Smile Entrepreneurship Competition Finalist April 2011toAugust 2012 TiC100Innovativebusinesscontest Finalist April 2012 Take off Dream Originality and Innovation Contest Runner-up May 2012 Seventh Dragon Smile Entrepreneurship Competition Finalist June 2012 Brand creation contest Finalist April 2012toAugust 2012 TiC100Innovativebusinesscontest Runner-up August TiC Taiwan Award Runner-up October 2012 Campus Entrepreneurship Competition Runner-up October 2012 National College students' creativity and entrepreneurship contest November Green technology industry Expo Free invited June Ecoprenuur TiC Mongolia August 2013 G-mark(Good Design Award) Finalist September National College Creative innovation and entrepreneurship Marketing Planning Competition October 2013 Global Little Giant Elite Entrepreneurship Competition Runner-up November 2013 National College Creative Product Marketing Competition The interdisciplinary team of this case participated in 14 nationwide competitions in Taiwan and 2 international large-scale competitions. The team was also invited to participate in a large-scale international business exhibition. During the process of various competitions, the interdisciplinary team had to undergo knowledge integration. After market testing, the team simulated operations in real environments by joining competitions. The case team in this study showed that an interdisciplinary team can achieve effective knowledge integration and teamwork during the process of competition learning. 4. Conclusion Based on the promotion of these regulations and plans by the MOE, incubating interdisciplinary talent and promoting campus-based innovation and entrepreneurship culture have become prevalent. All universities and colleges train interdisciplinary cooperation teams to participate in international and domestic innovation and entrepreneurship competitions. Through review, competition, and resource and budget subsidies, the schools have implemented interdisciplinary cooperation and cultivation of talent in individuals who exhibit innovation and entrepreneurship. Combining learning and competition, students on the interdisciplinary student team investigated in this study had various perspectives and expertise. Thus, team efficiency was enhanced, and communication and knowledge exchange facilitated. The team was comprised of team members from different fields of study, including students from the School of

5 84 Psychology and Social Behavior Research (2014) Design, and the School of Business and Management. The interdisciplinary student team investigated in this case study was actively cultivated to participate in large Taiwanese and international innovation and entrepreneurship competitions to experience the entrepreneurial process in depth. By participating in innovative, interdisciplinary collaboration, the students faced a series of challenges and tasks, and drew on cooperation and coordination to develop solutions, thus receiving an education in interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial education. This case showed that using competition learning to reduce the gap between school knowledge and work practice presents substantial benefits in university education. References Feng Chia University Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Development, Contest learning of concept and application, home page. mp= Jason, M. A. (2000). Improving Teamwork: The Effect of Self-assessment on Construction Design Teams, Design Studies,21 (3), Tress, B., Tress, G., & Fry, G. (2006). Defining concepts and process of Knowledge production in integrative research. From landscape research to landscape planning, Przeclawski, K. (1993). Transdisciplinary research. Tourism research: Critiques and challenges, Parker, G. M. (1996). Team Players and Teamwork: The New Competitive Business Strategy, Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series, Paperback Reprint edition. Wu, M. K. (2009). The Insights of John Dewey's Empirical Philosophy for Curriculum and Teaching, Journal of Taipei Municipal University of Education, 40(1),