Campus entrepreneurship is increasing for international students

Three strategic pillars allowed the Kogod School of Business at American University to expand its centre for entrepreneurship, which in turn encouraged and engaged all students on the topic.

Academic entrepreneurship programmes demand dedication, capital, and originality, much like any successful business venture. In 2014, the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington, D.C., began an entrepreneurship project.

Since then, it has expanded to encompass an undergraduate minor, a company incubator, and regular programming events throughout campus.

Tommy White, a senior lecturer and director of the Veloric Centre for Entrepreneurship, asserts that for the centre to expand, there needs to be collaboration across departments, a focus on students, and a determination to succeed.

The centre's business incubator programme provides support to 30 student-led startup enterprises simultaneously. Mentors and coaches, both current and former students and graduates of the programme, are available to each student founder. A student can get a stipend of $1,500 to $20,000 for each project.

You can earn a 12-credit specialisation in entrepreneurship or an 18-credit minor in entrepreneurship at American University by taking advantage of their eleven enterprise-focused classes.

In addition to connecting students with university-affiliated business coaches and mentors, the incubator programme offers a 600-square-foot office space.

The programme was able to scale and engage all levels of the institution because its leaders adopted a mindset similar to that of a startup when they launched it. They used the Lean Startup Method, which involves creating, testing, iterating concepts, and pivoting as needed.

With more than 2,000 square feet devoted to this endeavour, the centre relocated to the Don Myers Technology & Innovation Building in 2018. The programme is overseen by part-time directors and assistant directors, and it receives funding from the AU Design and Build Lab and the STEM Collaboration Programme.

It is essential to the centre's objective to have individuals on staff who have "walked the walk" and have direct experience with starting, expanding, or selling a business.

An inheritance entrepreneurship scholarship and contests centred on sustainability, health tech, and AI are relatively new additions to the curriculum. A student-run seed fund will soon be available, providing students with real-world experience investing in pre-seed and seed startups through a new programme.