Changes

School:Washington University in St. Louis

633 bytes added, 8 years ago

no edit summary

= Overview =

The Skandalaris center, Olin Business Entrepreneurship department, Engineering and the Medical school are the major centers of innovation within Wash U. Annually, dozens of students come out of Discovery Competitions from the Engineering department and various competitions held by Skandalaris Interdisciplinary Entrepreneurship center. Discovery Competition, ArchGrants and competitions like ~~Olin ~~Skandalaris Cupor LEAP Inventor Challenge are important sources for students to pitch their ideas and explore which projects are feasible and which are not.

Cup or Bear Cup are important sources for students to pitch their ideas and explore which projects are feasible and which are not. Each year, a few groups come out from the Hatchery, a class held in the Business School. The Hatchery is an especially good opportunity for students who have already formed teams or are looking for leaders or teammates. This program brings in investors from St. Louis and advisors from the region to assist students in launching start-ups within the semester. Off campus, the university also frequently subsidizes tickets to 3 day start -up and similar hackathons.

<div>

In addition, Washington University has a thriving community of entrepreneurial student groups including ~~IdeaLabs~~Sling Health, Engineering World Health, Center for Entrepreneur Partnerships, BetaVersity, and Washington University Tech Entrepreneurs. These groups have been greatly successful in culturing entrepreneurs, winning competitions, and launching successful ventures. ~~IdeaLabs~~ Sling Health was recently featured in Nature Biotechnology for their largely successful MakerMovement/Lean StartUp style formula for biotechnology ventures that succeed at the undergraduate and graduate level.

Although the number of resources and paths for entrepreneurship exist, the amount of participation in both clubs and competitions could be much higher, especially in terms of undergraduates. The vast majority of participants of the competitions listed above are seniors, graduate students, and medical students. The undergraduate environment is not as entrepreneurial as it could be. It is many of the same students that take advantage of the resources available. For example, it seems as if students are more interested in grades and resume building rather than collaborating and pursuing Lean StartUp methods.

Nevertheless, undergraduates involved in systematically shaping the undergraduate entrepreneurial culture have made great strides in the recent years. With the support from the school of engineering, the first Co-Lab, spearheaded by BetaVersity and the undergraduate entrepreneur groups, was established as a precursor to future maker-labs. The Center of Entrepreneur Partnerships has developed to begin uniting both undergraduate and graduate student groups to determine methods of programming to increase the number of students involved in entrepreneurship.

The Washington University in St. Louis entrepreneurial landscape has made strides in recent years. Compared to five years ago, the university has become much more focused on ~~Inovation~~ Innovation and Entrepreneurship, so much so, that one of the four pillars of the “Together, we lead” campaign, a university-led campaign focused on the future, is “Inspiring Innovation & Entrepreneurship.” A main focus of this pillar has been increasing funding for the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurship at Washington University. The Skandalaris Center has been integral to increasing entrepreneurship awareness on campus, with both programming and events, and has been the go-to place for many students and faculty to begin their entrepreneurial ventures.

There are a multitude of other clubs outside of the Skandalaris Center dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship in some fashion or another, but many suffer from low attendance and a small presence on campus. Not many engage in holding large events to generate awareness and are difficult to get in touch with, or do not meet frequently enough to sustain a strong attendance record. Many registered on the website for the Wash U Student Union are still listed but are defunct, also stymying efforts of interested first -year students who are looking for opportunities.

Those that are committed have been leading a charge, along with the Skandalaris Center, in recent years, however. Those groups and organizations can be found below.

==================================================Spring 2017============================================== ====== Since 2016, there have been many efforts by students to enrich the entreprenurship resources on campus, including Bear Studios and Y's Thought. Bear Studios is a student-run startup consulting organization that provides services such as web development and pitch coaching. Y's Thoughts is a student entreprenur network that offers students oppurtunites to pitch their ideas.

Landscape Canvas:

[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VXnh14EqA2RaRqU6cFpu2oXhN6sgDdiq02SsiRSG-sE/edit#gid=0 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VXnh14EqA2RaRqU6cFpu2oXhN6sgDdiq02SsiRSG-sE/edit#gid=0]

Bgao

28

edits