Programmatic Highlights from University of Maryland for Princeton Review/Entrepreneurship Magazine s 2014 Top Entrepreneurship Colleges Ranking

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1 Programmatic Highlights from University of Maryland for Princeton Review/Entrepreneurship Magazine s 2014 Top Entrepreneurship Colleges Ranking Survey

2 I&E At-A-Glance Snapshot, Academic Year Distinguishing Aspects of UMD s Entrepreneurship Programs... 3 Non-Traditional Aspects of the Entrepreneurship Programs at UMD... 6 Social Entrepreneurship at UMD Clubs/Organizations/Mentorship Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Students Entrepreneurship/Innovation Competitions UMD Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Courses UMD Graduate Level Entrepreneurship Courses I&E At- A- Glance Snapshot, Academic Year Total I&E courses 141 Total I&E student enrollment 4711 (2414 in ) Total faculty teaching an I&E course 103 Number departments represented by all I&E faculty 34 Number colleges or universities using I&E curricula or 75 programming developed at UMD Number of non-umd students taking I&E courses 15,015 developed at UMD Number I&E competitions 16 Total award money from I&E competitions $850,000 I&E competition areas business, social value, technology, and clean energy Total number of extracurricular I&E programs and activities 109 Total student participation in extracurricular I&E programs 1864 and activities Total budget for extracurricular I&E programs and activities $2,920,973 Number of companies started by students 65 Funding raised by those student companies $1,286,000 Number of undergraduate entrepreneurship 19 clubs/organizations Total budget for those clubs/organizations $705,559 Number of I&E mentorship programs 21 Total number of external mentors in programs 113 Total amount of undergraduate I&E scholarships $340,380 2

3 Distinguishing Aspects of UMD s Entrepreneurship Programs INNOVATION FOR ALL 37,000 STUDENTS: Innovation and entrepreneurship are the highest strategic priorities of the President, the Provost, and the entire University of Maryland (UMD). As such, I&E at UMD is not limited to just the business and engineering schools. In fact, nonbusiness and non-engineering students are every bit as important to include in the innovation process because that process is not as rich and has inferior outcomes without that diversity. For that reason, UMD launched the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AIE) in AIE reports directly to the President and the Provost and has a campus-wide purview and mission to engage all 37,000 students in all 12 colleges and schools in innovation and entrepreneurship. I&E at UMD is not limited to just the business and engineering schools. UMD s Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (AIE) has a mission to engage all 37,000 students in all 12 colleges and schools in innovation and entrepreneurship. AIE is embedding I&E into the core curriculum, bringing real-world experiential learning into the classroom, and providing students opportunities to work across all disciplines to creatively solve problems they are passionate about. Our students completely reimagine the landscape in which they re working by developing deep empathy for their fellow human beings, reframing problems, and trying unexpected & game-changing solutions. These efforts build upon the incredible foundation of entrepreneurial courses and programs built over 25 years by the business and engineering schools. Our core team is multi-disciplinary, creative and has a bias to yes attitude. We collaborate with an extended team of I&E-related programs & departments across the UMD campus that are passionate about creating innovation opportunities in all 12 colleges & schools. Some of our distinguishing aspects include: 30 DAYS OF enterpreneurship: This cross-campus collaboration is on full display every spring when UMD celebrates 30 Days of enterpreneurship ( a whole month dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship programs, events, and competitions. While most schools have a business plan and/or entrepreneurship competition, during 30 Days UMD offers six different competitions that award more than a quarter million dollars (and 16 competitions with approximately $850,000 over the course of the year) for the best ideas and innovations in business, social value, technology, and clean energy. Some of these competitions include: Cupid's Cup ( - UMD's nationwide business competition sponsored and hosted by Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour. Cupid's Cup assembles some of the country's top student entrepreneurs to compete for a transformative prize package including $115,000 in cash prizes. 3

4 ACC Clean Energy Challenge ( - UMD was selected by the Department of Energy as one of six universities in the country to run a nationwide clean energy business plan competition for students. The ACC Clean Energy Challenge offers over $100,000 in prizes and sends the winner to Washington, DC for the grand national finals and meetings with the Secretary of Energy and other senior government officials. Do Good Challenge ( - The Do Good Challenge is a eight-week competition that challenges students to make the greatest social impact they can for a cause they care about. Terps team up to volunteer, fundraise, promote awareness, start or advance a social enterprise, or engage in other activities that advance their favorite causes. Past celebrity hosts include Kevin Bacon, Boomer Esiason, Fran Drescher, and Carl Lewis. Bitcamp Hackathon ( 700 students from universities across the country came in on chartered buses to Bitcamp to combine their curiosities and innovative wild ideas with code and gadgets to make something awesome in 36 hours. 100% organized and run by UMD students, who raised $140,000 from sponsors to put on the event. Chesapeake Regional FIRST Robotics Competition ( - The Chesapeake Regional is Maryland's premier event for the FIRST Robotics Competition. More than 1,000 high school students on teams from Maryland and around the country compete for the right to go on to the FIRST Championship. UMD students and faculty serve as mentors and judges. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION INNOVATION CORPS (I-CORPS): UMD is one of only five universities in the country to be selected as a lead university in NSF s prestigious I- Corps Node program ( Together, these five nodes form the basis of NSF s National Innovation Network, which links together select universities with established entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to train faculty and student researchers from throughout the U.S. to transform ideas into products and get them on the market. The intensive and highly experiential I-Corps program was developed by entrepreneurs and is taught by entrepreneurs (including Steve Blank, father of Lean Startup) and was featured in a Harvard Business Review cover story ( It emphasizes conducting hundreds of experiments, or interviews, with as many potential customers as possible; gaining insights about the significant pain points and needs of specific customers; and tracking the results of those experiments on a business model canvas. With UMD s close proximity to over 70 Federal Labs 4

5 in the D.C. metropolitan area, UMD students have opportunities through I-Corps to work with NASA, NIH, DOE, DOD, and others to commercialize technologies. INNOVATION FRIDAYS: Another unique aspect of UMD's entrepreneurial culture is Innovation Fridays ( Similar to Google's 20 percent time, which gave the world innovations like Gmail by encouraging employees to spend one day a week pursuing bold projects that were not necessarily related to their job description, UMD encourages students to take one day a week Fridays to pursue their own fearless ideas. Innovation Fridays allows students across all disciplines to do just that. Innovation Fridays builds on five years of Pitch Dingman ( and five years of Entrepreneur Office Hours ( two entrepreneurial advising/mentoring programs that have helped thousands of budding student, faculty, and regional entrepreneurs. Another distinguishing feature of UMD s entrepreneurship programs is that the School of Business, School of Engineering, School of Public Policy, and others all collaborate to provide students with campus-wide entrepreneurial activities and resources needed to launch their ventures. The Robert H. Smith School of Business is home to the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship ( one of the first and leading entrepreneurship centers in the nation. Dingman has a history of Firsts including: The Center's Dingman Center Angels was the first to bring regional start-up companies seeking early-stage funding to the angel investing community and is the largest university-run angel investor network. The Dingman Center was among the first to create and teach undergraduate and graduate courses in the field of entrepreneurship. The Dingman Center developed some of the first courses in business biotechnology and technology entrepreneurship. The Dingman Center was the first to organize a national meeting of leading entrepreneurship centers in the U.S., thus creating the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC), a 200+ member organization. The Dingman Center was the first to provide workshops, seminars, and training programs for the regional entrepreneurial community. The Dingman Center was among the first recipients of Kaufman and Coleman Foundation grants to support the Center's programs. The Dingman Center was the first center on campus to establish faculty summer research awards. It is the only Center where two of its leaders have received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award. 5

6 The Dingman Center was the first of 5 Centers chosen to receive the NASDAQ award for Center of Excellence in Entrepreneurship The A. James Clark School of Engineering is home to the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute ( or Mtech. The mission of Mtech is to: Educate the next generation of technology entrepreneurs; Create successful technology ventures; and Connect Maryland companies with university resources to help them succeed. Mtech s core programs have had a $32.3 billion impact on the Maryland economy since Top-selling products such as MedImmune s Synagis, which protects infants from a deadly respiratory disease, and Hughes Communications HughesNet, which brings satellite-based, high-speed Internet access to the world, were developed through or enhanced by Mtech s programs. Billion dollar companies such as Martek Biosciences and Digene Corporation graduated from Mtech s incubator. Other Mtech highlights include: created over 19,000 jobs, engaged with 386 companies since 2013 with 27 entering an Mtech program offer Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) that have enrolled about 400,000 students worldwide offer 29 I&E courses enrolling over 1000 UMD students each year offer $345,380 in entrepreneurship scholarships each year The School of Public Policy is home to the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership ( which is focused on creating a new culture of philanthropy and a new generation of leaders who are making an impact locally and around the world promoting the ideals of doing well while doing good. Non- Traditional Aspects of the Entrepreneurship Programs at UMD The University of Maryland is a campus of firsts in that it is often the first to try new approaches to entrepreneurship education. The entrepreneurship program is continually evolving to provide students with the skills that they need to succeed in our rapidly changing world. Special and non-traditional aspects of entrepreneurship are being developed and incorporated into the curriculum. Examples include: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). o UMD offers the #1 Entrepreneurship Course on Coursera and the #5 Overall Business Course on Coursera. It was one of the first-ever entrepreneurship 6

7 o MOOCs called Developing Innovative Ideas for New Companies: The First Step in Entrepreneurship ( Over 400,000 students to date have enrolled from nearly 200 countries, constituting 75% of the classroom from outside the United States. The students represent ages This course assists aspiring entrepreneurs in developing great ideas into great companies. Following up on the popularity of the Coursera course, UMD is also now offering a 100% Online Master of Professional Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship ( starting this fall. The 15-month, global online program combines academics with a new web-based incubator. The 30- credit, 15-month program features the university's most advanced and comprehensive entrepreneurship curriculum to date, taking students from concept development and prototyping to business model generation and customer validation, as well as legal aspects of entrepreneurship, financial and innovation management, and effective growth strategies. Startup Shell ( is UMD s 100% student-founded, student-run startup incubator and co-working space (modeled in part after the highly-acclaimed Stanford StartX). This same group of students raised over $130,000 on their own to run the Bitcamp Hackathon mentioned in question #89. o In the Spring of 2012 a strong group of students working on their own companies turned an unused space on campus into Startup Shell, or 'the Shell'. We revamped the space over the summer with furniture from our old dorms and made a hardware station. That Fall we officially opened the Shell to students and boosted ourselves to over 70 students from all across campus working on all sorts of awesome projects and companies. Desks, monitors, 3d printers and a hardware station are only the surface of what we provide. The community of visionary and ambitious people is what really makes this space kick. We host events such as group dinners, hackathons, and talks. We hit on every detail needed for a company from legal advice to how to make an awesome product video. The School of Public Policy is home to the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership ( Courses offered in the school to both undergraduate and graduate students discuss maintaining strong ethics and using business principles to make a social impact. All students, undergraduate and graduate, also are exposed to social impact through the Do Good Challenge, a 7 week philanthropy competition that encourages students to do good for a cause they care about, being as creative and entrepreneurial as possible ( The winners of the first two challenges were students that formed new nonprofit organizations to better serve their causes and the last challenge included a new social venture track to encourage social entrepreneurship on campus. These initiatives are all open to graduate and undergraduate students. The Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership is one of the only programs in the nation that engages students in philanthropy through a hands-on, learn-by-doing approach. From granting real money to social ventures to learning to create their own social venture or significantly impacting an existing one, students become active in their educational experience as they study and engage in finding solutions to some of society s most persistent problems. 7

8 Through our program, students are exposed to and engage in innovative forms of philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. The Do Good Challenge also allows the Center to spread the culture of social impact across campus, having ripple effects not only on campus but across the nation and world. In fact, after winning the Do Good Challenge and with consulting support from the university, FRN became an official nonprofit and earned over 200,000 dollars in investment the following year. This year we had a new course connected with the challenge where 83 undergraduates learned how to develop and launch their own projects and ventures. The course included its own mini-challenge where the best groups competed for a $1,000 prize to take their initiative to the next level. The School of Public Policy programs connected with the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership take a very different approach than the standard passive form of learning most often seen on college campuses. All courses have a practical component where students are actually working with real organizations and/or finding solutions to the issues/causes they study. The Do Good Challenge also allows students to find creative and innovative ways to advocate for important causes. Our programs involve students across the campus engaging in innovative ways to achieve social impact. Undergrads from Hillman Entrepreneurs ( collaborated with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) intellectual property office during the spring 2014 term. The students examined select patents from the NIH portfolio for commercialization opportunities. Student teams developed proposals and presented their recommendations at the NIH headquarters at the end of the term. NON-TRADITIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP TOPICS In addition to the traditional topics associated with entrepreneurship that are defined in question 24, the University of Maryland offers 16 entrepreneurship classes covering non-traditional topics including: Innovation and design thinking, Entrepreneurial branding and identity Non-traditional entrepreneurial opportunity analysis Technology entrepreneurship Media entrepreneurship Arts entrepreneurship These non-traditional entrepreneurship courses are mostly offered outside of the business and engineering schools. Through the journalism department, entrepreneurs learn strategies for defining their brand using storytelling techniques and technology to convey the problem and solution. Students studying architecture use sustainability principles and design thinking skills to create development plans addressing urban growth and sprawl and pitch their ideas and the business case to planning and zoning boards. Agriculture students apply non-traditional 8

9 opportunity analysis strategies and principles of entrepreneurship and sustainability to the operation and management of family-run farm businesses. Freshman and sophomore students from all 12 colleges and schools in the College Park Scholars program learn and apply the design thinking process in their colloquia: reimagining the landscape by developing deep empathy for potential stakeholders, reframing problems, and trying unexpected & game-changing solutions. Many of these solutions re-think the traditional business model and focus on both corporate values and the triple bottom line (i.e., sustainability and social entrepreneurship). Upper level kinesiology students reinforce their learning on changes in physiological systems by designing a new product or service and developing business models to support their idea. OUTSIDE OF BUSINESS AND ENGINEERING In addition to the non-traditional entrepreneurship courses offered outside of business and engineering, the University of Maryland offers 85 traditional undergraduate entrepreneurship classes with 45% residing in departments outside of the schools of business and engineering. At the graduate level, the University of Maryland offers over 40 graduate entrepreneurship classes with 37% residing in departments outside of the school of business. NON-TRADITIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMS OF STUDY For students wishing to take more than just individual entrepreneurship classes, there are many programs of study available. Some traditional academic paths include a Management major with a concentration in entrepreneurship offered through the School of Business and a technology entrepreneurship minor offered through the School of Engineering. However, there are numerous non-traditional entrepreneurship programs of study with most available to students of any major and offered out of almost all of the 12 colleges and schools, not just business and engineering. Living Learning Programs: Entrepreneurship experiences are available to students of all majors through many of the 26 campus living-learning programs. The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Honors Program ( for freshman and sophomores and the Hinman CEOs program ( for upperclassmen, provide a unique four year immersive entrepreneurship experience. Launched in and featured on CNN, the Hinman CEOs program is a first-of-its-kind entrepreneurship living learning program that puts students in a hybrid dormitory/incubator. 25% of students in the program run revenue-generating companies from the dormitory/incubator. Fifty three (53) programs at universities around the country are based on the model Hinman CEOs pioneered. These programs foster an entrepreneurial spirit (students often create new ventures while enrolled), create a sense of community and cooperation, and develop ethical leaders. 9

10 College Park Scholars ( grounds its eleven living-learning programs in curricula that complements and enriches conventional higher education with innovative pedagogies and course design. Colloquia, supporting courses, and practica challenge students to collaborate across disciplines and explore contemporary problems from a variety of perspectives. Program faculty offer our annual cohort of approximately 900 students a curriculum in which they engage with those problems throughout their Scholars experience and as part of their capstone research project, service-learning project, or internship in their final semester. In addition to traditional entrepreneurship courses and colloquia, this year over half the 11 programs incorporated design thinking and innovation into capstone and other projects. By participating in these experiences, students work collaboratively alongside business and community leaders to identify, ideate, iterate, and solve real-world problems. Within the College Park Scholars Life Sciences living-learning program, all 90 sophomore students complete a research or internship experience, completing service hours, a journaling reflection period, and final oral presentations as a part of the experience. Each year, about 25% of these projects occur in small businesses or companies. Similarly over 23% of the 60 sophomores in the Science and Global Change program carried out their internships in small business settings. The Gemstone Program ( at the University of Maryland is a unique multidisciplinary four-year research program for selected undergraduate honors students of all majors. Under guidance of faculty mentors, teams of students design, direct and conduct significant research, often but not exclusively exploring the interdependence of science and technology with society. This year the program incorporated design thinking and innovation into the research projects to identify, ideate, iterate, and solve real-world problems. Upon graduation, several teams have created new ventures to continue developing their technologies. In the Beyond the Classroom Living Learning Program ( junior/senior students explore social entrepreneurship issues that matter to them as they prepare for leadership roles in the nonprofit sector. Through internships and interactions with activists with visionary ideas, Beyond the Classroom prepares future leaders to solve the world s greatest civic issues. A new cybersecurity honors college program ( was established in Fall 2013 with an enrollment of 57. An additional 66 first year students will join the program in Fall This innovative program will prepare students through problem based learning on real-world cybersecurity problems, group projects, and internships in private companies, and an innovative curriculum designed to prepare the next generation of leaders in the growing field of cybersecruity. The program, one of the first of its kind in the nation, is receiving substantial seed funding from Northrop Grumman Corporation, and will partner with industry leaders and entrepreneurs in mentoring students in the program. Nearly 80% of the Spring 2014 graduates from the College of Math and Natural Science (more than 450 students) completed at least one off campus research or internship experience. These take place at a variety of venues, including universities, federal laboratories, large and small 10

11 companies, and start-ups. Among computer sciences students, about 35% have internship or working experience specifically with small private companies and start-ups. The University of Maryland Entrepreneurship Programs realize, that to excel, students must experience entrepreneurship outside the classroom. Undergraduate students gain real world experience working with and visiting leading companies. The TDF Internship Program places students in a venture capital firm giving them a unique opportunity to practice entrepreneurship alongside active venture capitalists and leader technology entrepreneurs. The Private Equity and Venture Capital Clinic (PEVCC) is a program that provides selected students with the opportunity to serve as Analysts at an actual Private Equity Fund with over $100M under management, under the supervision of Professional Fund managers. 11

12 Social Entrepreneurship at UMD Business ethics and the values of social entrepreneurship are instilled in entrepreneurship programming, coursework, mentoring, and funding at the University of Maryland. Business ethics are integral to the University s entrepreneurship programs, beginning with the competitive interview process for Mtech s ( award winning living learning communities. For example, entry into the Hinman CEOs ( Program, the first residential entrepreneurship program in the country, is based on an interview process that highly values ethical judgment. All students are expected to behave in an ethical manner in all business, academic, and personal interactions. Ethics are reinforced through class activities, group work, and fair evaluation of team members. Courses with a focus on business ethics are offered. In the Management major with a concentration in entrepreneurship, one of the major requirements is the BMGT496 Business Ethics and Society course, which emphasizes a strategic approach by business to the management of its external environment. Students engage in a study of the standards of business conduct, morals and values as well as the role of business in society with consideration of the sometimes conflicting interests of and claims on the firm and its objectives. The Center for Social Value Creation (CSVC) ( is dedicated to creating a better world through business principles. Social Entrepreneurship is at the heart of this mission. Whether a student desires to start their own nonprofit or for-profit organization, or create social and environmental changes from within a company, Smith's Center for Social Value Creation (CSVC) will equip students to tackle today's complex global issues and create innovative business solutions. CSVC offers realworld field experience, cutting-edge coursework and research, and targeted career planning to connect you with opportunities to effect change and resources to put your ideas in motion. CSVC s goal is to develop leaders with a deep sense of individual responsibility and the knowledge to use business as a vehicle for positive social and environmental change. In 2008, the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business announced it was selected as an inaugural "Changemaker Campus" in partnership with Ashoka, a non-profit network of social entrepreneurs. Net Impact club members gain first-hand experience affecting positive change throughout organizations, in the areas of corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, nonprofit management, international development and environmental sustainability. Through guest lecturers, student discussions, interactive workshops, and community volunteering, members explore new business models and methods to exert a positive impact upon our environment. The Smith School hosts a graduate Net Impact Chapter ( and 12

13 an undergraduate Net Impact. Both chapters received Gold status in According to Net Impact, this means "These chapters go above and beyond minimum chapter requirements to create opportunities for their members to develop business skills, meet folks who can help members define career paths, and build a community of support to change our approach to social and environmental issues." Moreover, in October 2013 at the Net Impact Conference in San Jose, the Smith Undergraduate Net Impact Chapter was awarded the 2013 Undergraduate National Chapter of the Year award, a notable achievement for the short time the chapter had been active. Academically, students can participate in social entrepreneurship fellowships, internships, and courses. The Social Innovation Fellows Program ( teaches students to see the risks and recognize the opportunities that exist beyond traditional business, and to apply their business skills and creativity to create real solutions. The Social Innovation Fellows is a one-year program that challenges students to re-think products, services and business models that not only generate business value, but solve some of the world's greatest problems. Fellows enroll in two courses: Transformative Social Change course and Social Innovation Practicum course. Throughout the program, students interact with award-winning change leaders and develop a blueprint for an innovative solution to an issue they value. The program also provides hands-on experience working with renowned partner organizations such as Agora Partnerships, Grassroots Business Fund, Kiva Zip and more on current issues. The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (EIP) ( provides University of Maryland Honors College freshmen and sophomores with an interdisciplinary, living and learning education to help build the entrepreneurial mindsets, skill sets, and relationships invaluable to developing innovative, impactful solutions to today's problems. The capstone for this two-year living-learning program is the social entrepreneurship course. The Creating Enterprise with Social Impact course addresses the global necessity to develop and implement solutions to critical social and environmental concerns in ways that are both technologically viable and economically sustainable. The Smith School of Business offers the BMGT289A Social Enterprise: Changing the World through Innovation and Transformative Action course. This course looks at the history and theory of social change, reviews the skills, strategies, and ideas of effective change agents and gives students the tools to create a blueprint for their ideas for social transformation. To continue the momentum of students who want to become social entrepreneurs, the Social Entrepreneurship Laboratory, BMGT468U, will be offered for the first time in the Fall 2014 semester. The SE Lab, one of the Fearless Ideas Courses promoted by the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship ( will apply the Lean Startup Theory to social enterprise in an active learning environment where students will be able to test 13

14 their hypotheses around the creation of social ventures and learn and develop the best solutions possible through iteration. The CIVICUS living-learning program ( is centered around 5 tenets of civil society: citizenship, leadership, community building in a diverse society, scholarship, and community service-learning. Its courses and activities are intricately linked with each other and the campus, local, and national communities. CIVICUS Associates (first and second year students in the program) enrich their academic work and explore career opportunities by volunteering with non-profit organizations, creating their own community service projects, and participating in internships at the University or in the D.C. metropolitan area. Similarly, the Global Communities Living Learning Program ( combines academic coursework, co-curricular programming, global experiences, and participation in a residential community in pursuit of three student learning goals: understanding globalization and the issues it raises, developing cultural competencies, and preparing students for life and work in an interconnected world. The Impact Seed Fund ( offers grants totaling $25,000 annually to students in the University's Hinman CEOs, Hillman Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program initiatives who present business plans for new companies that benefit society. While plans that address the environment, education, healthcare, and other underserved markets and communities often present the strongest benefit to society with social responsibility lying at the core of the business plan, any plan that has considered and offered some kind of positive social benefit, or benefits some targeted disadvantaged community as an element of the business idea is eligible. Additionally, in spring 2014, selected members of the Hinman CEOs Program managed a funding portfolio comprised of Kiva micro-financing ventures. The funding for the initiative was donated by alumni of the Hinman CEOs Program. Leveraging criteria discussed in the international entrepreneurship course students identified and evaluated candidate ventures with investment decisions made by alumni funders, faculty, and students The Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership ( in Maryland s School of Public Policy is focused on creating a new culture of philanthropy and a new generation of leaders who are making an impact locally and around the world by further promoting the ideals of doing well while doing good. Courses offered in the school, to both undergraduate and graduate students, discuss maintaining strong ethics and using business principles to make a social impact. All students, undergraduate and graduate, also are exposed to social impact through the Do Good Challenge, ( an 8 week social impact competition run in partnership with the Center for Social Value Creation. The Challenge encourages students to do good for a cause they care about, being as creative as possible. Students can participate in one of two tracks: 14

15 Do Good Projects - short-term initiatives for specific causes or nonprofit organizations OR Do Good Ventures student started independent, self-sustaining entities. Students enrolled in the College Scholars Public Leadership program ( ) have several opportunities to engage in ethical debate as well as social entrepreneurship. Ethics is a central theme to the entire program and part of our mission of developing public leaders. The topic is covered in the 3-credit introductory course- PUAF201- Leadership for the Common Good, as well as the spring first year colloquium and fall second year colloquium. Students are introduced to social entrepreneurship in PUAF201 where students debate different approaches to social change while forming teams to complete community-based learning projects. During these projects, students work with social entrepreneurs in the community for a course of seven months, culminating in the spring first-year colloquium. The projects begin with a design-thinking module to assist them to consider innovative approaches for solving community problems. Additionally, second-year students are given the option to take PUAF359I- The Art and Science of Philanthropy. In this course students design and run an innovative philanthropic fund that ultimately invests $10,000 in an organization to achieve a social impact. The University of Maryland Social Enterprise Symposium ( hosted annually by the Center for Social Value Creation, explores the role of business in society. From sustainability to social entrepreneurship, SES connects students with thought leaders using the tools of business to change the world. The 2014 event featured two keynote speakers, a series of breakout sessions and workshops, and the first ever Do Good Ventures Showcase. The English Department at the School of Arts and Humanities also contributes to Maryland s social entrepreneurship curriculum with ENGL398B Writing for Social Entrepreneurship, launched in the spring of 2013 with two full sections. The goal of Writing for Social Entrepreneurship is to help students develop the professional writing skills they will need as a successful social entrepreneur or a team member in a social enterprise. Writing in the class includes a major writing project of the students choice, such as a business plan, grant proposal, concept paper for a new nonprofit or business, internal project proposal, recommendations report, manual, policy recommendation report, sales proposal, direct mail or fundraising campaign package. The project may address a social and/or environmental change interest of their own. In partnership with the Center for Social Value Creation, Education Abroad and the Honors College, UMD launched the Maryland Social Entrepreneur Corps (MSEC) ( 15

16 By generating and supporting community-based, self-sustaining small businesses, SEC has proven remarkably effective in combating third-world poverty. This unique eight-week study and internship program enables UMD students to learn the basic principles of social entrepreneurship through lectures, discussions, and hands-on, practical experience as they work side-by-side with SEC professionals developing micro-consignment businesses in Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. 16

17 Clubs/Organizations/Mentorship Opportunities for Entrepreneurship Students (1) The Hinman CEO's program is the Nation's first living-learning entrepreneurship program, serving 90 juniors and seniors from over 25 majors each year. Our living-learning entrepreneurship model has been replicated at 24 universities worldwide. (2) The Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program serves 150 freshmen and sophomore students in a residential community focused on entrepreneurial thinking. All students are members of the Honors College, and develop a social entrepreneurship venture as a capstone project in the program. (3) The Hillman Entrepreneurs Program is a scholarship program targeted to the needs of transfer students who begin their study at Prince George's Community College and complete their bachelor degrees at the University of Maryland. This program serves non-traditional student with economic and life hardships. (4) The Entrepreneurship Fellows Program brings together talented business school students to create an entrepreneurial chemistry that will stimulate the creation and growth of the new highpotential enterprises. The Entrepreneurship Fellows Program is a special selective track of the General Business Major, providing 4 dedicated entrepreneurship courses which prepare students to develop great ideas into viable business ventures. (5) Quality Enhancement Systems and Teams (QUEST) is a multidisciplinary, reality- centered program for University of Maryland undergraduates from three participating schools. Students participate in a challenging course of study that focuses on innovation, quality systems management and teamwork and co-curricular programming aimed at bringing diverse knowledge, skill and perspective to enhance their professional and personal development. Both inside and outside of the classroom, QUEST projects and co-curricular programs are focused on real-time innovations, organizational challenges and/or issues facing undergraduates, organizations and society today. Students learn and apply total quality tools and principles, Systems Thinking principles, engage in customer-driven initiatives and develop innovations while in the program. As seniors, student teams consult on a real-time organizational challenge for a real-world client. (6) Business, Society and the Economy Scholars Program explores the worlds of business and economics especially their impact on society by learning business and economic fundamentals, visiting corporate leaders and their business both in Washington D.C., area and 17

18 abroad, simulating real-life business models and engaging in team projects and simulations. (7) Startup Shell is the University of Maryland student-founded and student-run startup incubator facility. The incubator provides co-working space for student entrepreneurs, a device laboratory and access to a mentoring network. (8) The Social Innovation Fellows Program teaches students to see the risks and recognize the opportunities that exist beyond traditional business, and to apply their business skills and creativity to create real solutions--whether students work in a Fortune 500 company, a local nonprofit, or anything in between. (9) The Social Innovation Scholars Program, offered by the College of Arts and Humanities, provides creative and talented undergraduate students the opportunity to work with a university mentor and a representative from a nonprofit organization. Over the course of three semesters, students research and implement innovative solutions to problems identified by the organization. Scholars work with their mentor and their organization of choice to explore specific concerns and present a white paper to the organization for discussion and response. During a summer internship with their organization, scholars learn first-hand about the organization and its challenges. In the final semester, scholars implement and evaluate the effectiveness of their solutions. ( (10) The AshokaU Terp Changemakers exist to promote the development of a culture of innovation and social change, along with a generation of students who feel empowered to test out novel ideas, approaches, products, and services to tackle today s local, national, and international problems. (11) With a chapter at the University of Maryland, the mission of the Collegiate Entrepreneur's Organization is to inform, support, and inspire college students to be entrepreneurial and seek opportunity through enterprise creation. (12) Net Impact serves as a hub for both academic and career-oriented activities related to developing a broader perspective of leadership and entrepreneurship. Through guest lecturers, student discussions, interactive workshops, and community volunteering, members explore new business models and methods to exert a positive impact upon our environment. (13) The Mobile App Developers (MAD for short) is a University of Maryland student club whose mission is to design and build mobile applications that will benefit the students of the University of Maryland. (14) Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Student Design Team (SDT) identifies problems faced by students at the University of Maryland and solves them using an innovative 18

19 and entrepreneurial lens. The SDT trains students how to identify areas of improvement on campus and provides innovative tools and methods to better understand and solve identified areas of improvement. (15) RISE (Research, Instruction, Service and Entrepreneurship) Leadership Academy provides top engineering students with the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills in the area of entrepreneurship. (16) Cyber Security Club develops and encourages cyber security awareness and application by providing students with the tools and education they need to advance their cyber security careers. To accomplish this goal, we organize community outreach programs about security related topics, host tech talks and guest speakers and participate in security related competitions and conventions.develops and encourages computer security awareness and application. (17) Terrapin Hackers provides students the opportunity to participate in weekly hackathons making innovative customizations or combinations of retail electronic and computer equipment. (18) The University of Maryland Entrepreneurship Connector connects a community of entrepreneurs on the UMD campus, providing a wide range of initiatives and resources for university students to improve and encourage an entrepreneurial mindset. (19) Design Cultures and Creativity is a living learning Community, sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities, in which students explore emerging technologies and their impact on the world through projects in physical computing, intermedia performance, augmented reality, biomapping, culture jamming or participatory media. (20) The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship is housed in the Robert H. Smith School of Business. The Dingman Center focuses on practical entrepreneurship, global innovation and international classroom experiences. The Center promotes opportunities that provide maximum resources to start-up businesses in terms of ideation, execution and financing; and that support its mission to take entrepreneurs from the back of a napkin to the first $1 million in financing. (21) Through an engaging curriculum, real-world field experience, cutting-edge research, and targeted career planning, the Center for Social Value Creation immerses students in complex and dynamic marketplaces where creative vision and thoughtful entrepreneurship tackle some of society s most critical environmental and humanitarian needs. (22) Center for Philanthropy and Non-Profit Leadership is one of the first endeavors in the nation to extensively immerse university students in the practice of philanthropy as well as nonprofit 19

20 leadership and management. One of the Center s core tenets is that learning is not a passive activity, but instead requires active participation and deep practical application. (23) Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech) focus on two things: possibilities and results. Mtech offers programs, courses, and workshops to help aspiring entrepreneurs(faculty, students and regional) learn how to bring their ideas and products to the world and create successful ventures. Mtech helps companies solve vital challenges and develop top-selling products that improve and save lives by connecting them with resources to succeed (5) Innovation Fridays, jointly offered by the Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Social Value Creation, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, the Center for Philanthropy and Non-Profit Leadership and the Maryland Technology Institute, are weekly open sessions providing students with technology based ideas the opportunity to meet one-onone with experienced entrepreneurs from the technology fields. (6) The Fearless Founders program guides student ventures from idea to launch. Using lean startup methodology, you'll learn the strategy, frameworks and tools necessary to develop your business idea. This experiential program demystifies the venture creation process by breaking it up into three stages (Idea Shell, Hatch and Terp Startup), each with its goals and deliverables. (24) Pitch Dingman, which provides them an opportunity to seek advice on how to expand and solidify their business ideas into actionable business concepts (similar to a pitch to venture capitalists). (25) The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship launched the Dingman Jumpstart program during the Winter 2009 break. Students must commit 100 hours in the course of 3 weeks to research a business opportunity, and try to launch a live business by the end of the Jumpstart. Students may choose to work on their own business ideas, or on the ones provided by the Center. The Jumpstart culminates in investor pitches by each team to the panel of judges to receive funding. (26) Venture Accelerator is a selective program open to both students and faculty committed to creating new companies based on technology innovations. (27) Mtech's Entrepreneur Office Hours are recurring open sessions for students to meet with entrepreneurs-in-residence, venture capitalists, attorneys, and related members from the new venture community to explore ideas and get mentoring on their concepts. 20