School:Grand Valley State University

Introduction

Grand Valley State University (also known as GVSU), is a public, liberal arts university in Allendale, Michigan, United States. The university is located west of Grand Rapids, MI. and offers classes at a second campus in downtown Grand Rapids--GVSU's Pew Campus. The Pew Campus houses programs in Engineering, Education, Nursing and Business. There has been a movement through the past several years to improve the innovation and entrepreneurship landscape on GVSU main campuses. This recent push has gained the momentum of numerous courses, clubs, workshops, competitions and other programs involving innovation and entrepreneurship. The infrastructure is slowly growing to empower a greater number of students with the skills and mindset of an entrepeneur and innovator.

Entrepreneurship & Academics

The Faculty at GVSU integrates innovation and entrepreneurship in their courses through hands on projects and assignments. The classes below offer an emphasis on I&E.

EGR 301 - Product Design

EGR 401 - Advanced Product Design

MKT 450 - Marketing Capstone

MGT 672 - Creativity and Social Entrepreneurship

ENT 150/151 - Entrepreneurial Quest/New Venture Feasibility

ENT 250/251 - Entrepreneurial Finance, Accounting, Marketing and Management

ENT 350/351 - Entrepreneurial Business Plan and Project

HNR 480 - Designing Social Ventures

LIB 323 - Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs

Events & Community

Not only does Grand Valley State University support its students in innovation and entrepreneurship, both in and outside the classroom, but the Grand Rapids community also supports it. There are many organizations that offer funding, advising, space, and much more for small start up companies and businesses. Below is a list of some community organizations and GVSU programs that support innovation and entrepreneurship.

Community:

StartGarden Speakers/Workshops (http://startgarden.com/about/)
GRIN - Grand Rapids Inventors Network (https://www.meetup.com/Grand-Rapids-Inventors-Network/?_cookie-check=clEs_1c4xRh8GhS0)
GR Current (https://www.linkedin.com/company/gr-current/)
Emerge Xcelerate (https://grileadership.org/2017/10/meet-the-emerge-class-of-2018/) (https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/emerge-xcelerate)
Seamless (http://seamlessiot.com/)

Campus:

Idea Pitch
CEO Club
MWest
Hack Your Campus
5x5 Night GVSU Editionte
aMDI (Applied Medical Device Institue)

Resources:

Engineering prototyping lab, makerspace, machine shop, wood shop, Tech Showcase.

Co-op Program

For GVSU’s Engineering program, students must participate in a 3 semester co-op program. The last two years of an Engineer’s education, a student will alternate between co-op (usually at a company) and school every other semester. This allows students to apply what they have learned in real live situations and gain valuable industrial work experience. Typically students will get job offers after graduation with the company they co-oped with. The program also has a two semester long undergraduate senior project.

Not only does all this hands-on experience cause students to develop work ethic/economics and project management skills, it offers a more active participation in innovation and entrepreneurship.