In This Story
The Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) named Doaa Bondok a 2026 Engineering Unleashed Fellow, one of only 30 people nationwide to achieve the distinction. The fellowship is recognition of a commitment to developing engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset (EM). The fellowship, supported by the Kern Family Foundation, includes $10,000.
Bondok, an associate professor of structural engineering and director of undergraduate affairs in the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, initially wondered whether EM meant teaching business concepts to engineers, but came to see it differently. “It clicked with my way of thinking,” she said. “It’s approaching problems in way that’s considerate of the world around us and creating valuable solutions to the community.”
For instance, when she asked her students to design a skywalk overlooking the Shenandoah Valley, there was no single correct answer waiting them at the back of the textbook. They had to research existing skywalks, consider the surrounding landscape and user experience, and develop a structural concept that was both efficient and elegant.
“Most students don’t like an open-ended problems,” Bondok said. “They want something that is structured, where they already know the step-by-step solution. I think it’s very dangerous if we keep teaching in the same way, because our graduates won’t be able to adjust and adapt to the built environment that is changing.”
The semester-long skywalk project replaced that course’s final exam. Students worked in teams representing structural engineering firms tasked with proposing a conceptual design. Even choosing a location required engineering judgment. Students considered dramatic elevation changes, structural feasibility, visibility, scenic quality, stakeholders, and wind exposure. Some traveled to the Shenandoah Valley to scout possible locations themselves.
Bondok published this project on the Engineering Unleashed website, the portal for members of the community to share lessons and ideas. Engineering Unleashed comprises 5300 members from 385 institutions of higher education.
Bondok’s involvement with KEEN began shortly after George Mason joined the network in late 2024. She attended KEEN’s national conference in January 2025, where she was introduced to its framework emphasizing curiosity, connections, and creating value.
Her fellowship plan includes creating an entrepreneurial mindset starter kit for colleagues and helping faculty incorporate similar approaches into additional courses. Two colleagues in her department attended a KEEN workshop this year, giving Bondok an early group with whom to expand the effort.
“My goal is to produce this EM starter kit and introduce the EM mindset to my colleagues on a department level and also work on the institution level,” she said. For Bondok, preparing students to confront ambiguity is worth the additional work required to create open-ended assignments.
“That’s the real-world scenario that they will see in the future,” she said. “The more they adapt to it, I think we’re going to have competitive engineers in the future.”