'Entrepreneurs of the year' combine engineering, business skills

A fledgling venture to convert large steel shipping containers into mobile medical clinics won a team of Arizona State University engineering students Entrepreneur Magazine's College Entrepreneur of 2011 award.

Generating Global Containers for Good – or the “G3Box” project – evolved from work the students began in  Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) courses, part of a program established by ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.

The team’s plan is to produce various prototypes of converted shipping containers, including models of mobile clinics designed to provide service to rural communities, health care facilities for communities in developing countries and disaster-relief aid stations.

In a recent interview on a TV news and public affairs program, students talked about how the endeavor is broadening their skills in both engineering and business.