The Institute for Entrepreneurship and
Innovation’s mission is to inspire and nurture future
generations of entrepreneurs and deliver transformational
education and experiences university-wide. To help UMKC
students acquire entrepreneurial skills, the Institute is
dedicated to the development of collaborative,
program-specific entrepreneurship initiatives with UMKC’s
Schools and Colleges. The objectives of these initiatives
include:
-
Inspiring and nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit of
participating students;
-
Preparing students with toolkits and roadmaps to seize
opportunities within their fields and transform those
opportunities into successful businesses;
-
Providing experiential learning opportunities that allow
students to create companies.
These initiatives are built around intensive
entrepreneurship immersion programs designed in
collaboration with faculty from partner schools. Students
who desire entrepreneurship education and experiences have
the varying programs options below.
Multidisciplinary
Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation Classes
The Institute’s flagship
multidisciplinary Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation
course pairs students from the MBA program, School of Law,
and School of Computing & Engineering in teams to create new
venture business plans. The teams then present these plans
at the Institute’s Regnier Family Foundations Venture
Creation Challenge, each vying to
win one of four “Launch Packages” valued at approximately
$15,000 to start their venture through the Institute’s
Student Ventures Program.
Additional variations of
this course are being developed to include students from
additional UMKC Schools and Colleges.
Entrepreneurship
Bootcamp: Open to all UMKC Students
Since introduction, students from 9
UMKC Schools and Colleges have participated in the
Entrepreneurship Bootcamp. The Bootcamp program develops
fundamental entrepreneurial knowledge and skills for
students from all disciplines across campus, both
undergraduate and graduate.
Class
sessions include a variety of lectures, film cases, text
case discussions, guest speakers, and an assortment of class
exercises. Students learn how strategy, marketing,
financing, legal matters, and cash flow impact opportunities
in terms of execution and growth and how to position a new
firm for success. The
Bootcamp program
encourages
students to reflect on their own entrepreneurial potential
and to evaluate entrepreneurship as a potential career path.
Even those who
may not feel that they are entrepreneurs benefit by
discovering how to function more effectively in
entrepreneur-led organizations. The Bootcamp program is open
to all UMKC students.
Campus-Wide Programs
Entrepreneurship
Immersion: Open to all UMKC Students
Entrepreneurship Immersion introduces students to the
excitement and challenges of building their own business.
Key activities include identifying and evaluating
entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as identifying what
it takes to get a new venture off the ground. The program is
enriched with real-life examples, including case studies of
start-ups and personal stories from local entrepreneurs. The
faculty emphasizes active, hands-on learning where students
develop and deliver "elevator pitches" and proposals for
their own business ideas. Student teams will also get a
taste for starting and running a company through a
computerized business simulation.
Entrepreneurship
Certificate: Open to all UMKC Students
The
Entrepreneurship Certificate is designed for students who
would like to take additional coursework beyond the
Entrepreneurship Immersion to acquire entrepreneurial skills
but are unable to take advantage of the Entrepreneurship
Minor program. The Entrepreneurship Certificate includes
coursework in creating a new venture and participation in
the Institute’s Regnier Family Foundations Venture Creation
Challenge.
Entrepreneurship
Minor: Open to all UMKC Students
The Entrepreneurship Minor helps UMKC students acquire and
refine their entrepreneurial skills. The minor is for all
UMKC students who want to bring an entrepreneurial
perspective to their major field of study. Entrepreneurship
minors are required to complete a total of 18 credit hours,
including two required entrepreneurship courses and four
elective entrepreneurship courses. UMKC students from
outside the Bloch School have the option of replacing up to
two entrepreneurship electives with two discipline-related
electives that are consistent with their entrepreneurial
focus.
UMKC
Entrepreneurial Legal Services Clinic
A program of
the UMKC School of Law, the Entrepreneurial Legal Services
Clinic provides pro bono legal business planning services to
small business owners who cannot afford the market rates for
such services.
