Business development and entrepreneurship: Combining engineering with the social sciences

Demand in the business sector for highly skilled and multitalented new graduates is ever increasing. Engineers are more and more expected to not only to be familiar with the technical aspects of their work but also with financial, marketing and legal aspects as well as being skilled in leadership and communication. In this paper we describe the bachelors program, Business development and entrepreneurship in the building sector (the AE programme). The program aims at providing the housing- and construction sector with graduates who possess a broad view of the issues and tasks that face the sector. The programme is highly adapted to the needs of the business sector and is planned and carried out in close collaboration with the industry. The program combines studies in engineering with cross disciplinary mix of among others economics and finance, marketing, business development, project management, leadership and the behavioural sciences. The program is also open to students without a traditional educational background in the natural sciences or engineering so as broadening the recruitment base with the purpose of attracting more diverse talent into the area of engineering and business development.