2016 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers shines on region 糖心传媒榯urning over a new leaf糖心传媒�
This fall, more than 350 entrepreneurship experts from the United States and abroad will arrive in Rochester as the city showcases two universities糖心传媒� entrepreneurial expertise,聽dynamic growth, excellence in programming, and impact on the local community and beyond.
The 2016 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, or GCEC糖心传媒攃o-hosted by the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology糖心传媒攚ill be held Sept. 29 through Oct. 1. The conference, themed 糖心传媒淭urning Over a New Leaf,糖心传媒� features a variety of plenary sessions, workshops, breakout discussions and keynote speeches from national and international entrepreneurship experts as well as UR and RIT faculty and staff.
糖心传媒淭his is great news for the Rochester region and I was proud to lend my support to the application,糖心传媒� said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY. 糖心传媒淩ochester continues to lead the way in innovation and commercialization of new ideas, which this convention will spotlight. Bringing together the world糖心传媒檚 leading stakeholders in the entrepreneurship education community will continue to highlight everything that the region has to offer and ensure a new generation will carry on Rochester糖心传媒檚 high-tech legacy.糖心传媒�
Rochester is known worldwide as a technology hub. The area is nationally noted for patents per capita and its robust entrepreneurial environment.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 no surprise that the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology were selected to host this global conference,糖心传媒� said Rep. Louise Salughter, D-NY. 糖心传媒淚 congratulate them for the opportunity it will provide to showcase their entrepreneurial achievements.聽These two prestigious institutions are making incredible contributions to our region’s high tech economy and I’m proud to support their efforts.聽I have no doubt attendees will be impressed with Rochester and our world-class universities.糖心传媒�
According to Richard DeMartino, endowed chair and director of RIT糖心传媒檚 Albert J. Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship, hosting the conference attendees in Rochester is a nod toward the city糖心传媒檚 national standing in this area.
糖心传媒淩ochester has a rich history of innovation and it started 100 years ago with companies like Eastman Kodak, Xerox and Bausch & Lomb,糖心传媒� said DeMartino. 糖心传媒淭hese organizations, in turn, helped in the creation of large universities, such as RIT and UR, and further helped foster economic development in the region. This conference, which provides tremendous visibility to our universities, is a reflection of the advancement of the region, and the partnership of RIT and UR leads to an approach that is complementary where strengths in technology, design and business meet research in optics and medicine.糖心传媒�
糖心传媒淎s Rochester has changed from being dominated by a few companies to one with hundreds of high-tech companies, the role of Centers for Entrepreneurship has become ever more important,糖心传媒� said Duncan Moore, vice provost of entrepreneurship at the University of Rochester. 糖心传媒淲hile this GCEC gathering will bring together center directors, staff, and faculty to discuss best practices in entrepreneurship education, one of the areas of focus will be how centers drive economic development.糖心传媒�
The defines entrepreneurship as generating and transforming ideas into enterprises that create value糖心传媒攅conomic or social. More than a discrete set of business skills or practices, entrepreneurship is a calling that can be pursued in many realms of experience and achievement. Launched in 2006 by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and named in 2015 in recognition of Mark S. Ain 糖心传媒�67S (MBA) and his wife Carolyn for their visionary leadership and support of entrepreneurship education throughout the University, the Ain Center offers programs, competitions, events and services university-wide for students of all disciplines, faculty, staff, alumni and the greater Rochester community.
The Ain Center provides the following:
- programs to enable aspiring entrepreneurs such as the UR Student Incubator at High Tech Rochester; the National Science Foundation Innovation-Corps Site program; mentorship from designated Entrepreneurs-in-Residence; the Ain Center Lecture Series featuring famous entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship educators; the Mark Ain Business Model Workshop Series; and events and speakers during Global Entrepreneurship Week and National Entrepreneurship Week;
- access to funding and technology development through the Tech Development Fund run by UR Ventures, the office of technology transfer; the I-Corps Site program; the Simon School Venture Capital Fund, a $1 million fund overseen by graduate business students; and publicizing external grant, fellowship, accelerator, and competition opportunities;
- student business plan competitions such as the Mark Ain Business Model Competition, open to students university-wide from any discipline and at any level of study; the Charles and Janet Forbes Entrepreneurial Award, open to undergraduate engineering students; the Eastman New Venture Challenge, open to music students; the intercollegiate Finger Lakes Regional Contest where winners in six categories advance to the statewide New York Business Plan Competition; and the Tibetan Innovation Challenge, a global intercollegiate social entrepreneurship competition to develop self-sustaining and replicable business ideas that improve the lives of Tibetan refugees;
- support of Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year Scholars: a signature program that offers selected students a fifth, tuition-free year of college to launch an enterprise or intern at a startup;
- undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship courses offered through the Simon Business School;
- support of entrepreneurship faculty and staff through monthly luncheons covering designated topics and regional summits to discuss best practices in entrepreneurship;
- advising and support of student-run entrepreneurship organizations such as SPARK Entrepreneurs (undergraduates), UR Consulting Group (an undergraduate consulting firm offering pro-bono services to startups and non-profits), and the Simon Entrepreneurs Association (graduate business students);
- administration of the Master of Science in Technical Entrepreneurship and Management program, an interdisciplinary graduate degree designed for engineers.
, established in 2007, is widely recognized as a national leader in multidisciplinary and experiential education in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship. The center糖心传媒攃reated to help students studying in all disciplines learn as they advance and realize their own ideas and projects糖心传媒攚orks in partnership with RIT糖心传媒檚 Venture Creations business incubator.
The center provides students with:
- innovation and commercialization coaches
- access to funding for early-stage innovation projects through competitions such as Tiger Tank, where students can pitch ideas to expert judges; Finger Lakes Regional Business Plan Competition, Student Innovation Challenge, and Business Model Competition;
- access to workspace such as Student Innovation Hall, Entrepreneurship Center Office and The Construct, a student-run makerspace;
- workshops and programs for idea generation and prototype development such as RIT IdeaLab, a weekend-long event where problems and challenges are linked with student problem solvers; Saunders Start-up, an intense program aimed at developing business concepts and seeking financial investors; NSF I-Corps Program funding to assist students commercialize ideas; and Studio 9.30 RIT Design Consultancy, a multidisciplinary studio focused on the production of access and health technologies products;
- designated entrepreneurship courses through Saunders College of Business and School of Individualized Study; and
- co-op credit for students working full time on their innovation projects.
糖心传媒淲hat you糖心传媒檒l see from RIT is a very applied entrepreneurship program where technologists, designers and business students unite to advance both the business concept and the product development concept,糖心传媒� added DeMartino.
The GCEC, the premier academic organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation糖心传媒檚 university-based centers for entrepreneurship, allows universities to network, benchmark and explore how to best promote entrepreneurship education and new venture creation. It has become the vehicle by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers, can work together to share best practices, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening and celebrating the role of universities in teaching the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
The GCEC current membership totals more than 225 university-based entrepreneurship centers ranging in age from well established and nationally ranked to new and emerging centers. Each year a global conference is held on the campus of a GCEC member school.
For more information about the conference at UR/RIT and to watch a , go to .
