Discussion: View Thread

Creating the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs

Teaching entrepreneurship is about encouraging students to dream big---but also sharing with them a disciplined approach to acting on those dreams. But one might question whether we are realizing the real potential of entrepreneurship in our classrooms? Are we truly conveying the entrepreneurial mindset? Do students actually improve on key entrepreneurial competencies when they take entrepreneurship courses and participate in co-curricular programming?

Now in its 17th year, the Experiential Classroom was created to address these questions. Over 1,000 faculty members from across the globe have learned best pedagogical practices and leading edge classroom innovations through the Experiential Classroom. These lessons are fundamentally changing the way entrepreneurship education is delivered.

Each year, 75 delegates are accepted to the program. Coordinated by Dr. Michael Morris at the University of Florida, the program brings together twenty-four of the premier educators in the entrepreneurship discipline as presenters. The program is intensive, addressing everything from course and curriculum design and teaching creativity to a portfolio of exciting and high impact experiential learning tools (simulations, cases, entrepreneurial audits, business models, marketing inventions, and much more). A central thrust concerns connecting the classroom, co-curricular programming, engagement with the entrepreneurial community, and experiential learning.

Delegates range from those new to the entrepreneurship classroom to seasoned teachers. They include tenure track faculty with degrees in other fields, new Ph.D. program graduates, clinical faculty, adjuncts, center directors, and others. And through the Experiential Classroom, they form collaborative networks and share experiments and experiences. Many report that the exposure they receive is transformative for their teaching approaches, and gets them to rethink what they are trying to accomplish in the classroom and how they achieve it.  The program also introduces to a network of others trying new things in entrepreneurship education.

The Experiential Classroom XVII will be held from September 22-25, 2016 at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville. Some partial USASBE Scholarships are available for those who need financial assistance. To learn more about the program, and to apply, go to michael.morris@warrington.ufl.edu&job=1891196&ymlink=3651304&finalurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwarrington%2Eufl%2Eedu%2Fcenters%2Fcei%2Ffaculty%2Fexperiential%2F"> http://warrington.ufl.edu/centers/cei/faculty/experiential/.

If you have specific questions, please contact Michelle Helmer at michelle.helmer@warrington.ufl.edu or (352) 273-4967 or Michael Morris at michael.morris@warrington.ufl.edu or (352) 273-0329.