Faculty Entrepreneurship Certification Workshop

The project’s purpose is to disseminate an entrepreneurial mindset across the university by training faculty from various nonbusiness disciplines through the Faculty Entrepreneurship Certification (FEC) workshop. The faculty members incorporate the learned materials into their existing course syllabi. 

Call to Action

Through its strategic priorities—which include innovation, research, and entrepreneurship—the university seeks to position itself as a higher education institution that increasingly prepares students to become transformational leaders and practitioners, equipped to respond to the needs of the communities they serve. One of the university’s supporting objectives, therefore, is to increase students’ knowledge of innovation and entrepreneurship in relation to their major or minor fields of study, through curricular and co-curricular opportunities. To help meet this objective, the School of Business established the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) to serve both the entire campus and the surrounding community. 

Two of the CEED’s primary goals are to help business and nonbusiness faculty infuse entrepreneurship and innovation into their curricula and to help students launch and sustain businesses. To this end, CEED launched the FEC workshop as a key initiative in 2023.

Innovation Description

The FEC workshop is composed of a curriculum that focuses on teaching primarily nonbusiness faculty how to introduce an entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial concepts to students in their existing courses. The workshop, taught online over the course of two weeks, is designed to empower faculty by exposing them to skills in entrepreneurial thinking, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. Portions of the Ice House Entrepreneurship Program methodology are also used to promote entrepreneurial thinking. Faculty are exposed to additional business startup methodologies, as well, such as lean startup, which is used to develop minimum viable products and businesses in a short period of time, before gaining customer feedback and pivoting strategies if necessary.

Through FEC, faculty are engaged in quality professional development while obtaining the tools to bring entrepreneurial thinking to students. The workshop’s primary learning goals are to help faculty teach students about the following: (1) entrepreneurial attitudes, behaviors, and skills; (2) how to recognize factors that are social, situational, and discipline-specific, and which factors encourage or inhibit entrepreneurial behavior; (3) how to identify, evaluate, and validate business opportunities; (4) the principles of the lean startup methodology; and (5) how to prepare for North Carolina Central University’s Idea Competition.

The first phase of the workshop requires full attendance in order to help faculty develop assignments, exercises, and quizzes; it also presents components that teach educators how to incorporate the entrepreneurial mindset and lean startup methodology into an existing course. The workshop’s second phase requires faculty to show evidence of their having taught the course information to students, demonstrated through representative observations of course teaching sessions. Students’ course evaluations will later be used for feedback on the effectiveness of the FEC module. In the workshop’s final phase, faculty coach and mentor those students who will apply and prepare for the university’s Idea Competition.

Innovation Impact

To date, the workshop has been completed by eight university faculty members, representing the following departments: Mathematics and Physics, Family and Consumer Science, Art and Design, Dance, Mass Communications, Social Work, and Law.

The impact of the FEC workshop on the university’s academic community has been substantial and quantifiable. Through this program, we’ve witnessed a tangible increase in entrepreneurial initiatives among our faculty members. They’re not only integrating entrepreneurial principles into their courses but also actively engaging in startup ventures and collaborative industry projects.

From a business perspective, the workshop has significantly enhanced our school’s reputation, along with stakeholder engagement. Our alumni, too, are establishing businesses that contribute to the local economy and foster a sense of entrepreneurship in our region. The FEC workshop has been more than an educational endeavor; it’s been an investment in the economic growth of our community.

Looking ahead, the workshop’s anticipated impact is promising. With a growing number of faculty and student entrepreneurs, we anticipate a continuous surge in startup initiatives and innovative projects. The enterprising spirit at the university should lead to more partnerships, funding opportunities, and business ventures, repositioning the school as a hub for entrepreneurial excellence. In essence, we see the Faculty Entrepreneurship Certification workshop becoming a cornerstone of our institution’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, propelling us toward a future of sustainable business growth and impactful educational initiatives.

Reference Link

• Faculty Entrepreneurship Workshop, North Carolina Central University