School:Menlo College
Contents
Overview
Menlo College, nestled in the heart of Atherton, California, is an institution renowned for its intimate learning environment and dynamic programs. With a modest enrollment of around 900 students, Menlo College is Silicon Valley's cherished gem, offering degrees in Business and Psychology. Our privileged location provides students with many opportunities, as they benefit from small class sizes while being just a couple miles away from tech giants like Facebook and Google. At Menlo College, we are committed to supporting our students' dreams, offering financial aid and scholarships up to 99% of our student body. Yet, despite our advantageous surroundings, our small size can pose challenges for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators. The UIF Leadership Circle of Menlo College is dedicated to bridging these gaps in our ecosystem, ensuring that our students have access to the resources, mentors, and creative spaces necessary to thrive in the world of entrepreneurship and innovation.
Student Entrepreneurship
Menlo College students are passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation; except, there are only minimal assets for them to utilize on campus. Entrepreneurship is offered as a major for those pursuing a business degree and is a growing major at Menlo College. The large presence of clubs on campus gives students the extracurricular opportunities to explore their areas of interest, such as the Pioneer Club, an organization strictly designed for entrepreneurs and creative thinkers alike. Another club where students are exposed to innovation is the Paks Innovation Club. Menlo College Office of Career Services hosts a number of career-orientated workshops, such as how to create a cover letter and resume workshop to learning how to set up a Linkedin profile; these are just a few of the events Menlo College offers to support entrepreneurship in their students. In addition, this was the first year Menlo participated in the Hult Prize competition, a start-up accelerator for social entrepreneurship. With the success of this competition, Menlo College is looking to expand on-campus challenges. Moreover Menlo College has a Living Learning Dorm for Creativity and Innovation.
The Innovation Center is a space where students can be creative and work together on projects. It is used for design thinking classes but also free for students to come in whenever they want.
Menlo College students, with the support of faculty, have organized three successful Startup weekends. In November 2020, Menlo hosted, virtually, Startup Weekend Silicon Valley Womxn. More than 100 people attended.
Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, Menlo College's faculty goes beyond the traditional classroom role. Here, our educators are not just professors; they are accomplished individuals with hands-on experience in the business world or active contributors to various industries. This unique mixture of academic - and real-world expertise enriches the educational experience for our students. The best part is that our dedicated faculty members generously share their entrepreneurial insights within their classrooms, seamlessly integrating their practical experiences into the curriculum. Whether it's through indirect references or direct ties to entrepreneurship, their wisdom inspires and guides our students on their journey toward innovation and business excellence.
University Technology Transfer Function
Our school does not have a technology transfer office.
University - Industry Collaboration
As an undergraduate school, Menlo College does not host the amount of research as a graduate university. Many professors conduct research, furthering their professional area of study, but their work is not directly linked to students. As a possible solution, Menlo College can partner in collaboration efforts with Stanford University and other local univerisities for students to see and utilize the resources in their surrounding environment.
Menlo College offers a Silicon Valley Immersion and a Global immersion where students have the chance to connect with companies in the Bay Area and in Dubai.
Career services launched an internship class INT499/399 that helps students to connect with industries and gain working experience.
In addition there is a strong connection between Menlo College and the Startup Metabob, founded by an alumn.
Regional and Local Economic Development
Menlo College has a very low regional and local ecomonic development. Possibly due to the fact that our campus and its students do not have access to a specific entrepreneruship deparment or designated leader. There is a lack of awareness surrounding entrepreneruship and innovation on campus. Ultimately, this deprives students from pursuing their innovative business ideas as well as learning the steps to fully develop their ideas.
The economic development in the surrounding areas of campus have shown a strong trend of growth in the past 5 years but there's low accesibility for students to take advantage and get involved. Menlo College itself as an institution is now playing catch up in comparison to surrounding organizations. Menlo College can be doing a lot more in the aspect of connecting students to more resources in the area, whether that be for conferences, lectures, company tours, etc. The focus on secured employment and internships on campus is beginning to overshadow the school's original entrepreneurial potential. As University Innovation Fellows it's our responsibility to remind the school of it's origins and innovative mentality.
Other
Menlo College participated as one of 24 universities around the globe in the UNM Anderson School of Management Global Scaling challenge to devise business growth strategies. The findings were presented their findings to a panel of judges, including the companies executives. The Menlo team consisted won second place in this years' global scaling challenge. Menlo provided a team of three students and a faculty mentor. In addition, another facutly person and the Dean of Business were involved in the process. The collaboration between students and faculty was successful and resulted in the second final place in the Challenge!
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Fall 2021 Fellows:
Lina L. Lakoczky-Torres
Andrea Restrepo Vives
Chara E. Higaki
Bryan Zaremba
Fall 2020 Fellows:
Courtney L. Cooper
Dezmond A. Fraizer
Basil Merk
Esteban Ramirez
Fall 2019 Fellows:
Rufus K. Pappy
Bianca Neme Barros
George Hofstetter
Christopher Overkämping
Spring 2018 Fellows:
Ethan Moengchaisong
Sachal Jogi
Ash Hunt
Esther Funez
JC Maroun
Brenda Flores-Reyes
Jonathan Garcia
Lucia Casadei Parlanti
Spring 2017 Fellows:
Jessica Carlson
Russell W. Perkins
Yasmin Gomez
Maxwell Barnes
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