21st Century Entrepreneurship Education

Entrepreneurship education provides students with the skills to find and develop business opportunities, whereas, other business disciplines focus on managing and controlling resources for optimal performance in meeting defined goals. Pursuing opportunity places the student in a context of uncertainty, ambiguity, and risk.

In the 20th century, entrepreneurship programs focused on opportunities for starting a small business. This was seen as a way to create jobs in a community and provide an alternative lifestyle to working in a large corporation. The 21st century, however, has brought new challenges. Business is less predictable today. International competition and economic instability bring a need for more innovation to be implemented by entrepreneurs. Innovation will create new products and services the customer will truly want, and will be the driver of business success.

In The Great Reset, Richard Florida (2010) hypothesizes that the United States is transitioning from an industrial economy to a creative economy. Regions with creative and innovative residents will thrive in this economy, and those locked into old economic models will struggle. Thus, we believe we can have a significant economic impact on Indiana and the United States by being a hotbed for innovative talent. Our entrepreneurship program has embraced this challenge by developing a curriculum based on design, innovation, and applied creativity.

The Entrepreneurship Channel

Our program has developed The Entrepreneurship Channel that can assist you with any idea you may have. We coach you as you transform your idea through the classes.  For students who don't have an existing business idea but want to learn the entrepreneurship process, we have developed an extended network of partners including the Department of Defense with our Military 2 Market program, Indiana Motorsports Association, the Ball State Innovation Corporations, and Muncie's Innovation Connector.

Download Channel (PDF)