Chris Kuenne's course EGR 491: High-Tech Entrepreneurship is not an only an especially popular Keller Center's course but one that is often referred to as "the most impactful course I have taken at Princeton." It is essential then that we succeed in maintaining the content and experiences of our courses during this time of crisis; sustaining the rigor and value of its subject matter is vital. We had a chance to check in with Professor Kuenne's Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, Sam van der Jagt '21 to see how the changeover is going in EGR 491.
"EGR491: High-Tech Entrepreneurship is a hands-on course which introduces students to analysis and actions required to launch and commercialize a tech company, through the use of Harvard Business School case studies. It being heavily participation-based, we anticipated some challenges as we switched to digital teaching."
The virtual blackboard
"During class discussions, Prof. Kuenne usually takes notes throughout to keep track of main arguments and frameworks, and we did not want this to get lost as we went digital. With the help of the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning we now have a fantastic solution in the form of an iPad Pro on which the professor can still take his notes. The iPad is part of the Zoom call and allows students continuous access to the notes during class!"
Accessibility at a distance
"As a TA, part of my job is making sure that every single student in the class is comfortable, able to participate, and generally doing well. This has become ever more important as students have traveled to different time zones, have limited internet access, and sometimes feel less comfortable participating through their webcam. Therefore, we have been working hard to accommodate everyone as well as we can; classes are recorded for students who cannot attend, and students can submit comments they did not have an opportunity to make in class to me. We are also able to continue to have our guest speakers 'join' our classes through Zoom.
Both Prof. Kuenne and I feel that digital teaching has exceeded our expectations. Everyone can engage and participate, and discussions have been of comparable quality to when we were in the traditional classroom. We feel we are able to maintain an impactful course during this difficult time.
As we are all working together, we can get through this together!"
We are, as ever, grateful for the dedication and commitment of our faculty, staff, and students. Thanks to everyone who is making the Keller Center's remote transition work!
If you are a current Princeton student who would like to enroll in High-Tech Entrepreneurship for fall 2020, please complete the application by April 16th.
Related People
Entrepreneurship Specialist; Lecturer