Meeting the Need
Businesses need more than graduates who excel in their field; businesses need leaders - who think in innovative ways, plan and manage projects and use technology to bring projects to fruition. These entrepreneurial skills are key components for the future competitiveness of U.S. companies.
Entrepreneurs in the United States have generated between 60 and 80 percent of all new jobs in the last decade. Entrepreneurs in small businesses represent 97 percent of all exporters of goods and are a growing sector for women and other minorities.
Entrepreneurship drives the U.S. economy and influences
global enterprise
MSOE established the Uihlein/Spitzer Center for Entrepreneurship to provide resources to a flourishing mindset of entrepreneurship among MSOE faculty and students. Entrepreneurial values are instilled in students, preparing them to join business and industry in leadership roles, improving profitability and productivity. Our students develop new products, design new processes and uncover new markets. Some even start their own businesses. When it comes to entrepreneurship, MSOE students take the helm.
The Center's efforts are directed by G. Woodrow Adkins , the Uihlein/Spitzer Chair of Entrepreneurship in the Rader School of Business. Professor Adkins draws upon MSOE faculty, experts in business and his experience as an entrepreneur and executive to provide a range of services available through the Center:
- Business concept refinement
- Ideation assistance
- Financial resource identification
- Market identification and feasibility
- Business plan development
The Center supports efforts to integrate entrepreneurial skills into engineering, technology and business education, such as involvement with the Kern Entrepreneurial Education Network (KEEN) grant and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA).
Entrepreneurship is a strategic initiative at MSOE, adding value to the education experienced by students. Since establishing the Uihlein/Spitzer Entrepreneurship Endowment, MSOE has made significant progress toward creating an entrepreneurial mindset among our students, faculty and alumni.
Global focus
Global opportunities related to trade and export are facilitated through a partnership with Milwaukee's U.S. Export Assistance Center that promotes the exports of goods and services from the United States, particularly by small and medium-sized businesses across the Midwest.
Teaching entrepreneurialism
Partnered with MSOE's Rader School of Business, the Center provides resources and expertise in undergraduate and graduate course offerings. Courses are available as electives to all majors. Examples include:
Undergraduate
MS-3425 Entrepreneurship - An Overview
MS-3427 Entrepreneurial Business Plans
MS-3429 Entrepreneurial Finance
MS-4960 Global Trade and Export
Graduate
EM-704 Technical Entrepreneurship
EM-770 New Product Management
EM-745 Strategic Technology Development
Strong networks of support and learning are available to students through the MSOE Entrepreneurs Club and the MSOE Business Leaders Association/Phi Beta Lambda. These student-led groups sponsor speakers, engage in entrepreneurial projects and participate in regional and national competitions.
