Creating Solutions to Help the World

Engineering Entrepreneurship Summer Institute goes global with immersion program in Panama

When Matthew Capelle ’27 ChE learned about a unique opportunity to spend a summer not only earning a minor in Engineering Entrepreneurship but also solving social impact problems on the ground in Panama, he jumped at the chance.

Capelle took part in the first international iteration of the Engineering Entrepreneurship Summer Institute (E2SI), an eight-week, 16-credit minor program open to all Villanova undergraduate students. During the first five weeks of the summer 2024 program, students engaged in rigorous online entrepreneurship courses taught by esteemed faculty members. For the final three weeks, they lived and studied outside Panama City, where they tested and validated their business concepts for rural Panamanians.

“E2SI launched in 2018, but this was the first year we included an international component, and it was transformative,” says Lauri Olivier, PhD, MBA, director of

Engineering Entrepreneurship and associate professor of practice. “It was an immersive educational experience for the students, focused on meaningful and impactful work.”

Capelle, along with Kris McAnally ’26 CpE and Bradley Berde ’27 CpE, formed the team Fresher Farming and identified a produce-spoilage issue facing farmers. After meeting with local farmers, they invented an efficient and affordable cooling device that can be inserted into a wood pallet to prevent spoilage while produce is transported to market.

“The program created a confidence in me that I can achieve novel solutions and think independently and outside of the norms,” says Capelle. “It showed me how, as an engineer and an entrepreneur, I can create solutions that will help the world.”

E2SI will return to Panama this summer, with a new focus on creating business solutions for Panamanian coffee farmers.