Entrepreneurship Education Consortium
The Entrepreneurship Education Consortium (EEC) is made up of seven university directors of entrepreneurial centers. Member universities include Akron, Ashland, Baldwin Wallace, Case Western Reserve, Cleveland State, John Carroll, and Kent State. These directors formed the EEC in order to collaborate on a regional effort to pool their resources and expertise, which can be more successful as a group rather than at individual institutions. As a result, the EEC was incorporated in 2007 and the first collaborative event “Entrepreneurship Immersion Week” was held at Cleveland State University in August of 2007.
The EEC will hold their second Immersion week August 10-16, 2008 at John Carroll University.
The Mission of the EEC is:
The EEC was founded to promote both the concept and the reality of Entrepreneurship among college students of all disciplines. Beyond imparting the necessary classroom fundamentals, it encourages student exploration of new business concepts. Where feasible, the EEC will facilitate fully developed business planning up to the interface for project funding which leads to actual startup of new enterprises.
Visit the EEC website.
Immersion Week:
Immersion week consists of an intensive one-week, academic immersion experience for 35 or 40 select undergraduates, and a one-day business concept competition for 8 teams or individuals from Northeast Ohio Institutions of higher learning that house entrepreneur centers. Each consortium center director is allocated five slots for selected juniors, or sophomores, to attend the Immersion program. Those students should represent a cross section of majors. Invited to attend are students from business, technology, sciences, arts, etc. Recruits need to be committed to attendance for the entire Immersion program, held from Sunday through Friday. During the week, participants live in dorm or hotel rooms in close proximity to the host institution, eating their meals at the hotel and the host university (with the exception of meals provided off campus in connection with sponsored field trips to businesses, etc.).
Students form teams of five to engage in group activities, including the development of a business concept that will be presented at the final program session on Friday. The team with the best business concept plan (as judged by an outside panel of entrepreneurs) will be awarded a cash prize and individual plaques for the team members at the Awards luncheon with invited entrepreneurs, deans, and support personnel. The development of teaming skills is crucial in the modern work place, where many, if not all, of these students may begin their careers with an existing business before starting their own ventures.
The Immersion program begins on Sunday afternoon with a kick-off and orientation, followed by dinner with the first external speaker. A networking reception follows the dinner speaker. Over the next four days, program participants experience two “academic units” per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Each consortium center director will be responsible for one of the 7 units.
Each of the topic areas are approached with a minimum of lecture and a maximum of hands-on activities. (Many of these activities involved mixing the students from different universities to promote networking). Each luncheon and dinner involves a speaker (an entrepreneur or subject matter expert) and some meals will be scheduled off-campus at the field trip locations (e.g., lunch at the Federal Reserve with a presentation on the economic structure of and outlook for Northeast Ohio). Some of the off-campus meals will be sponsored by local businesses or entrepreneurs. Attention will be given to providing students with positive information and presentations by community leaders to instill an understanding of the opportunities for entrepreneurs in Northeast Ohio.
The final day, Friday, involves a wrap-up and evaluation, as well as team presentations to a panel of outside judges, including follow-up question and answers. At the luncheon or closing ceremonies, each student receives a framed certificate. The team that wins the best business concept plan will be announced and those team members will receive a cash prize (to be divided among the team members). All students receive a stipend at a later date.
Each year, the Immersion program will graduate 35 or 40 bright undergraduates with renewed enthusiasm for entrepreneurship and with a new set of skills to implement venture creation and development. In addition, these 35 to 40 students return to their home institution for at least one more year, where they can be expected to spread their enthusiasm and skills among other, non-participating students. In the long run, we should expect to find an upturn in new entrepreneurial ventures in Northeast Ohio. Five teams from this past August are still developing their business plan to make their project a reality.
The Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Ashland University has application forms available for the 2008 August Immersion Week. Students from any discipline may apply. In May, 2008 five Ashland University students will be selected to attend the August Immersion Week to be held at John Carroll University. Call or stop by the Morgan Center office for more information (room 112 Dauch College or 419-207-6976.
For more information view our flyer or contact Erin Bistline at ebistlin@ashland.edu.
Download the application form here. Completed applications should be returned to Erin Bistline in Dauch 112.