Professor Elena Rodriguez-Falcon
PFHEA, MEng, MBA, MCMI, Senate Fellow
Professor of Enterprise and Engineering Education
Director of Enterprise Education in the University of Sheffield
Faculty Director of Women in Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Sheffield
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 7797
Fax: +44 (0) 114 222 7890
email : E.M.Rodriguez-Falcon@sheffield.ac.uk
Profile
Elena joined the Department in 2001 having previously worked in industry for seven years in project management, product development, quality control and business planning. Elena, in addition to being a mechanical engineer, has MBAs in Industrial Relations and Industrial Management, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education.
In the last eleven years Elena has developed three degrees which aim at embedding enterprise and management in engineering. She is also the founder of the Ibberson Centre for Enterprise, better known as the E-lab, which has become the first enterprise satellite for the White Rose Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Enterprise (WRCETLE), now known as University of Sheffield Enterprise (USE).
Until 2008, Elena was also Director of Learning and Teaching Development for one of the four Institutional Learning Priorities of the University: Inclusive Learning and Teaching.
In 2011, Elena became the University of Sheffield's Director of Enterprise Education and also the Faculty of Engineering's Director of Women in Engineering.
Other professional activities and achievements:
- Member of the International Advisory Board of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon in Mexico, since 2011
- On the editorial board of Engineering Education, HEA Eng SC journal, since 2010.
- Invited speaker to the Guardian Summit 2009 and adviser for the Guardian Summit 2010.
- Enterprise Educators UK Ltd Board Director, since 2010.
- Declared elected to the Enterprise Educators Board, since 2009.
- Royal Academy of Engineering, External Affairs Committee, since 2009.
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), since 2008.
- Member of the HEA Engineering Subject Centre Advisory Board, since 2006.
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Management (MCM), since 2003.
Teaching
Elena is a Professor of Enterprise and Engineering Education who has been awarded the status of Principal Fellow at the Higher Education Academy - one of the first ten in the UK. Elena lectures on enterprise and business planning, using innovative teaching techniques which have been awarded by the Higher Education Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering, Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK) and the National Centre for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE).
Elena's main passion is to enable her students to succeed and also to enable her students to make people's life better. To this end, Elena has worked with numerous local organisations and vunerable people, including St Luke's Hospice, Sheffield Childrens Hospital, Woolley Wood School and children with cerebral palsy.
Module leader:
MEC414/MEC6414 Technology Strategy and Business Planning
USE201/USE301 Making Ideas Happen
With others:
MEC115 Design Skills
MEC305 Engineering Management
MEC307 Group Design Project
Research Interests
Elena's general research interest lies in teaching and learning as the main umbrella for her scholarship. From this she has developed more specific interests in enterprise education, project based learning, internationalisation and various others. This has resulted in numerous conference papers and guest speaker presentations in both the UK and internationally.
Her particular interest in enterprise education has also led her to study and research into entrepeneurial behaviour and for the past seven years she has collaborated on a project called Enterprise High Growth Innovation, comprised of seven UK universities and MIT in the USA, which resulted in an award winning conference paper and a book chapter.
Notable Awards
Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, 2012
Northern Champion, Instutute of Public Policy Research, 2012
Distinguished Alumna Award for Excellence in the Profession, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, México, 2011
Personal Tutor of the Year Award (Engineering), University of Sheffield Students' Union Academic Awards 2011
Enterprise Educators UK and National Council of Graduate Entrepeneurship, Highly Commended Enterprise Educator Award, 2009-2010
Royal Academy of Engineering, ExxonMobil Award in Excellence of Teaching 2008-2009
Royal Academy of Engineering ERA Foundation in Excellence of Teaching Award 2006-2007
Senate Awards For Excellence in Learning and Teaching 2004-05, 2005-2006
HE Academy Engineering Subject Centre Teaching Award 2004-2005
Selected Publications
Selected refereed journal papers:
- Carpe diem, Carpe ampulla: A numerical model as an aid to the design of child-resistant closures,
Yoxall, A., Rodriguez-Falcon, E. M. & Luxmoore, J. (2012),
Applied Ergonomics Journal, 44(1), pp. 18-26. - Learning from each other: Engaging engineering students through their cultural capital,
Rodriguez-Falcon, E., Hodzic, A. & Symington, A. (2011),
Engineering Education Journal (Special issue: Student Engagement with Engineering Education), 6(2), pp. 29-38.
Online (open access) - The role of entrepreneurship clubs and societies in entrepreneurial learning,
Pittaway, L., Rodriguez-Falcon, E., Aiyegbayo, O. & King, A. (2010),
International Small Business Journal, 29(1), pp. 37-57.
Available online - Service-learning experiences: A way forward in teaching engineering students?,
Rodriguez-Falcon, E. & Yoxall, A. (2010),
Engineering Education Journal, 5(2), pp. 59-68.
Online (open access) - Accessibility is in the palm of your hand,
Rodriguez-Falcon, E. and Yoxall, A. (2010),
In Designing Inclusive Interactions, ed. Langdon, P. Clarkson, P. and Robinson, P.
London: Springer, pp. 45-54 (ISBN: 978-1-84996-165-3)
Online (open access) - Husband, daughter, son and postman, hot-water, knife and towel: Assistive strategies for jar opening,
Yoxall, A., Langley, J., Musslewhite, C., Rodriguez-Falcon, E.M. and Rowson, J. (2010),
In Designing Inclusive Interactions, ed. Langdon, P., Clarkson, P. and Robinson, P.
London: Springer, pp. 45-54 (ISBN: 978-1-84996-165-3)
Online (open access) - Embedding enterprise in engineering,
Handscombe R. D., Rodriguez-Falcon E. M., & Patterson E. A. (2009),
International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, 37 (4), pp. 263-274 (12). - Food for thought? – A UK pilot study testing a methodology for compositional domestic food waste analysis,
Langley, J., Yoxall, A., Heppell, G., Rodriguez-Falcon, E., Bradbury, S., Lewis, R., Luxmoore, J., Hodzic, A. & Rowson, J. (2010),
Waste Management & Research, 28 (3), pp. 220-227.
Online (Open access) - On the Recognition of Venturing Opportunities in Science and Technology
Lucas, W., Cooper, S. and Rodriguez-Falcon, E. (2009),
In New Technology-Based Firms in the New Millennium, Volume VII, ed. Oakey, R., Groen, A., Cook, G. and Van Der Sijde, P.
Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing, pp. 7-22 (ISSN: 1876-0228)
Online (Open access) - Student learning on non-traditional modules on traditional courses,
Beck, S.B.M. & Rodriguez-Falcon, E.M. (2009),
NEXUS Journal of Learning and Teaching Research, 1, pp.34-54.
Online (Open access)
Selected refereed conference papers:
- Service-learning experiences: a way forward in teaching engineering students?,
Rodriguez-Falcon, E. and Yoxall, A. (2010),
International Conference of Engineering Education - Birmingham, UK, July 6-8, 2010 - Evaluation of initiatives related to engagement and retention of first year mechanical engineering students at two Russell Group Universities,
Joyce, T. and Rodriguez-Falcon, E. (2010),
International Conference of Engineering Education - Birmingham, UK, July 6-8, 2010 - Accessibility is in the palm of your hand,
Rodriguez-Falcon, E., and Yoxall, A. (2010),
CWUAAT: 5th Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology - Cambridge, UK, July 22-25, 2010 - Husband, daughter, son and postman, hot water, knife and towel: Assistive strategies for jar opening,
Yoxall, A., Langley, J., Musslewhite, C., Rodriguez-Falcon, E., and Rowson, J. (2010),
CWUAAT: 5th Cambridge Workshop on Universal Access and Assistive Technology - Cambridge, UK, July 22-25, 2010 - Universities as engines of economic development: More than a metaphor?,
Handscombe, R. D., Rodriguez-Falcon, E., and Patterson, E. A. (2009),
International Conference on Engineering Education and Research - Seoul, Korea, August 23-28, 2009 - The role of entrepreneurship clubs and societies in entrepreneurship learning,
Pittaway, L., Rodriguez-Falcon, E., Aiyegbayo, O., and King, A. (2008),
Institute for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference - Belfast, Northern Ireland, November 5-7, 2008 - The interchangeable lessons learned between curricula and extra-curricula courses in the field of enterprise education,
Rodriguez-Falcon, E., and Gillott, L. (2008),
ICEIRD2008: International Conference for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Regional Development - Skopje & Ohrid, Macedonia, May 8, 2008 - Embedding experiential learning in engineering education,
Rodriguez-Falcon, E., Carre, M. J., and Yate, J. R. (2006),
Interdisciplinary European Conference on Entrepreneurship Research - Liverpool, UK, July 2006 - Better by design: Developing teaching concepts through group work,
Yoxall, A., Bradbury, S. R., Carre, M. J., Goh, W. T., Heppell, G., Hodzic, A., Lewis, R., and Rodriguez-Falcon, E. (2006),
Interdisciplinary European Conference on Entrepreneurship Research - Liverpool, UK, July 2006 - On the recognition of venturing opportunities in science and technology,
Lucas, W., Cooper, S. & Rodriguez-Falcon, E. M. (2006),
14th International High-Technology Small Firms Conference - Enschede, The Netherlands, May 2006 - University spinouts and student start-ups: A study in heat transfer and rocket science?,
Handscombe R. D., Patterson E. A., & Rodriguez-Falcon E. M. (2006),
ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition - Chicago, USA, November 2006. - Embedded Enterprise Learning: About, Through, For and From,
Handscombe, R., Rodriguez-Falcon, E. and Patterson, E. (2005),
ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition - Orlando, USA, November 2005.