Santokh Badesha, Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Innovation is the lifeblood of progress, and fostering an inventive mindset among students is paramount. Santokh Badesha, Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is leading a groundbreaking course at Purdue University to instill this mindset. The course is a visionary approach to intellectual property and innovation education that blends practical industry experience with academic rigor.

Launched during the 2024 summer semester, the course is designed to be asynchronous, making it accessible to students with varied schedules. Badesha says the course reflects the practical experiences of an inventor, rather than focusing solely on legal jargon.

“The curriculum covers the entire innovation process, from idea generation to navigating internal and external approval processes,” said Badesha. “This practical approach ensures students learn how to effectively create and commercialize their ideas.”

Purdue Senior Vice President for Partnerships and Online and Reilly Professor of ECE Dimitri Peroulis said when Badesha joined the Purdue ECE faculty, he was hoping he would create and teach a class like this. Peroulis says there are other entrepreneurship courses at Purdue, but Badesha’s is unique because it is taught from the inventor’s perspective.

“Our students get to learn from an instructor with more than 250 issued U.S. patents and incredible achievements already recognized by many professional organizations, including the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Inventors),” said Peroulis. “They also learn from a distinguished professor with true passion for innovation and IP. Prof. Badesha always encourages students to innovate and have impact no matter what problem they may be working on.”

Ryan Nelson is pursuing his MSECE online while he works full-time as a Control Systems Engineer at Burr Oak Tool Inc. He said he took the class because a company he worked for was involved in a lawsuit involving patent infringement.

“Since I had seen the company struggle to understand how to deal with this lawsuit it made me decide that this class would be directly applicable to my job and would be valuable information to have,” he said.

Nelson said he was able to learn about the different categories of intellectual property and how to leverage them to create value as an engineer and inventor.

A standout feature of the course is its integration of industry insights. Badesha has leveraged his extensive network to bring guest lecturers from renowned companies such as Kodak, IBM, Dow, and Corning. These experts provide students with a diverse perspective on intellectual property generation and management.

"I wanted to make sure that the students learn rather than just tick a box for a grade," Badesha explained. “The course is not just about theoretical knowledge; it aims to provide students with the skills and insights needed to succeed in industry.”

Terry Taber, Kodak CTO & VP and Senior Vice-President, is one of the industry leaders who spoke to the class. He says a class on intellectual property caught his attention since it is such a vital part of the world – both industry and academics.

“I thought my experiences might provide a unique perspective and suggestions for how to approach an environment that fosters creativity, innovation, and intellectual property in a unified manner, says Taber. “Having an introduction to an intellectual property mindset allows the student to quickly participate in the patent process at a company rather than be confounded or confused by the need and the process to generate patents.”

Prith Banerjee is Chief Technology Officer at ANSYS and author of “The Innovation Factory.” His lecture covered how large companies can pursue disruptive long-term innovation.

“When students from this class at Purdue graduate and take up jobs in industry, they will be responsible for driving innovation in their own companies,” said Banerjee. “Since this class is about intellectual property, I discussed how large companies can partner with academia and startups to build disruptive innovative products and solutions while respecting the IPs of the partners.”

Utpal Mangla is a Vice President and Senior Partner in IBM. He viewed participating in the class as opportunity to give back to the next generation of leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Mangla believes the class gives students an edge when they are looking for jobs in industry.

“Technology is the bedrock of Innovation,” he said. “Jobs and skills of the future need an innovation driven agenda, outside the box creativity, and an entrepreneurial mindset.”

Lindsey Holper is pursuing an MSECE online. She currently works for General Motors on ADAS sensor fusion, writing production code for Super Cruise systems. Holper says she took the course because she is interested in developing intellectual property and wanted to understand the process and best practices.

“I would recommend this class to other students because it gives you a good understanding of what kind of intellectual property you can develop and what is needed in order for it to be approved,” said Holper. “I believe the knowledge I have gained in this course will allow me to contribute more when working on an intellectual property project at work.”  

Milind Kulkarni, Michael and Katherine Birck Head and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, says the course exemplifies the goals of Purdue ECE.

“Purdue ECE prides itself on the strong electrical and computer engineering foundations we provide for our students,” said Kulkarni. “But we do not just want to create phenomenal engineers — we want to build the next generation of leaders in ECE. This course is a big part of that project, giving students exposure to luminaries from the tech industry to help them strengthen their skills in entrepreneurship and innovation.”

The course offers an additional certification exam in collaboration with the National Academy of Inventors. Students who pass this exam receive a certificate from the academy, which Badesha believes will give them a significant edge in the job market.

"If I'm hiring and a candidate has taken this course and holds an inventor's certificate, that candidate will get ahead," he asserted. “The certification signals to employers that the candidate possesses a deep understanding of intellectual property and innovation processes, making them valuable assets from day one.”

The course has garnered substantial interest, with more than 70 students enrolling in its first offering. The interactive nature of the course, mainly through discussion forums, has facilitated robust engagement and learning.

"The discussion forum shows how interactive and responsive the students are,” Badesha noted. “They are learning, and I am learning from them, too."

This dynamic interaction will continue in future iterations of the course, ensuring that it remains relevant and impactful. Badesha's vision is to create a course that educates, inspires, and equips students to become leaders in innovation.