Northeastern University Joins Prestigious KEEN Network
Northeastern University’s College of Engineering has officially joined the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN), a prestigious partnership of 70 colleges and universities across the United States dedicated to fostering an entrepreneurial mindset in engineering education.
KEEN’s mission centers on reaching all undergraduate engineering students with an entrepreneurial mindset so they can create personal, economic, and societal value through a lifetime of meaningful work. The network, supported by the Kern Family Foundation, provides resources, tools, and collaborative opportunities to help faculty integrate entrepreneurial thinking into engineering curricula.
A Natural Fit for Northeastern’s Mission
“Joining the KEEN network represents a natural evolution of our commitment to experiential learning and innovation,” said Gregory D. Abowd, Dean of Northeastern’s College of Engineering. “Our cooperative education program has always emphasized the practical application of engineering knowledge in real-world settings. The entrepreneurial mindset isn’t just about starting companies—it’s about curiosity, creativity, and the ability to connect ideas across disciplines. These are exactly the qualities we see in our co-op students as they navigate complex engineering challenges around the world.”
A. L. Ranen McLanahan, Program Director of the Kern Family Foundation, welcomed Northeastern to the network, adding “Northeastern is well known for its experiential learning model and co-op program, which prepares students to pair technical expertise with an entrepreneurial mindset. Northeastern’s plans to bring KEEN’s entrepreneurial mindset into the First-Year Engineering program build on its strong tradition of hands-on, project-based learning. We look forward to partnering with Northeastern as they continue to help students discover opportunities, create value, and lead in a rapidly changing world.”
Transforming Engineering Education
The KEEN network focuses on three core characteristics of the entrepreneurial mindset: curiosity about our changing world, the ability to integrate information from various sources to gain insight, and skill in identifying unexpected opportunities to create value.
The partnership will provide Northeastern faculty with access to KEEN’s extensive resources, including the Engineering Unleashed platform—an online community where engineering educators share innovative teaching approaches and collaborate on curriculum development.
Building on Northeastern’s Innovation Legacy
Northeastern’s entry into KEEN builds upon the university’s long-standing commitment to innovation in engineering education. The College of Engineering has been at the forefront of interdisciplinary research and experiential learning for over a century, celebrating the 115th anniversary of cooperative education in 2025. Co-op has long served as a model for connecting classroom learning with real-world experience. Entrepreneurship has also been a focus of the college, anchored by the Sherman Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship which was founded over a decade ago.
“KEEN’s framework will enhance what we’re already doing exceptionally well,” noted Abowd. “We’re not changing our fundamental approach to engineering education—we’re amplifying it with additional tools and perspectives that will help our students become even more effective problem-solvers and value creators.”
Looking Ahead
As part of the KEEN network, Northeastern will implement entrepreneurial mindset outcomes across its engineering curriculum, from freshman-level courses through capstone design projects. The integration will complement the college’s existing focus on communication skills, ethical reasoning, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Faculty development initiatives will begin immediately, with Northeastern educators participating in KEEN’s signature programs and contributing their own innovations to the network’s shared resources. Faculty will also participate in national conferences, workshops, and working groups focused on integrating entrepreneurial thinking into engineering coursework.