Schools enhance education for would-be entrepreneurs - The Business Journal of Milwaukee:

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“The demand has been tremendouse forentrepreneurship education,” said Tim director of the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship in ’s Colleges of Business Administration. Starting in fall, Marquettre University will launch a certificate program in entrepreneurshipp through its Graduate Schoollof Management. The progran is designed to instil entrepreneurial thinking in many disciplines with the aim of teaching students the skills they need to creatre abusiness — innovation, entrepreneurship and business knowledge developed within a context of social responsibility, Keanee said.
Developing skills around entrepreneurship and innovatiojn are crucial to the succesxs of allcollege graduates, not just thosee who have studied business, he said. Marquette’zs certificate program in entrepreneurship is open to anyone with anundergraduater degree, regardless of course of “Without access by all students, it wouldd be missing the point,” Keane said of the certificatee program. The program will focusx on the best practices ofsuccessful start-u p businesses. Courses can be applied towarcd earninga master’s degrede in business administration.
Marquette expects to acceptt 10 students into the program for theinitial “More and more people realize that some or all of their careers will be spent at small companies,” he said. Certificates students will take 15 to 16 hourss of courseworkat Marquette, includin g three core entrepreneurship courses and two elective coursess in a professional area such as business or Students must also complete a business plan, and it is expectee that most students will participate in the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship’s annual business plan The application of entrepreneurial skills is even more criticalo in a recession, Keane added.
“Businesses of all sizes are beginninhg to understand the value of tryinghnew things,” he said. The severity of the recessiob has some students looking more carefully at developinvgentrepreneurial skills, said Dan Olszewski, director of the at the . “Eveb in a lousy good ideas are successful,” Olszewski said. “Very successful companiew have gotten started in a weak economyh and some have even been started because of a weak The Universityof Wisconsin-Madison has offered an entrepreneurship progranm since 1987. “We were offering small businesd classes evenbefore that. We were one of the earlh universities involved in Olszewski said.
The Weinerf Center program involves courses in entrepreneurship and other relatede topics in preparation for roles as busines ownersand managers, venture capitalists or consultants to smallefr businesses. UW-Madison also offers a master’s degre e in business administration with a specialization in entrepreneurial The growing demand for entrepreneurial educatiojn comes at a timewhen U.S. companies have shed thousands of jobs. “Students realize that therde may be greater potential in controllinbg theirown destiny,” Olszewski said. At the same challenges remain forstartuo companies, especially when it comes to securing financing.
“Evenb with a good idea, you need to be more creative with Olszewski said, adding that startup businesses may have to self-finance untiol the economy gets stronger. UW-Madisohn also is set to launch its third annualk entrepreneurialboot camp, an intense prograjm for graduate students in science, engineering and law. Conductec over five, 12-hour class days, the program introduceas studentsto entrepreneurship, the skills and issues faced in technology entrepreneurship. Meanwhile, UW-Whitewater will launcgh an entrepreneurship major inJanuary 2010. The campus also has receivee funding from the business community to offer an independent studiee program in entrepreneurshipthis summer.
“The studentse we have in class are gointg to be facing a global job marketthat we’ves never seen before,” said Debra Malewicki, an assistantt professor of management. “Students must think entrepreneurially and even ifthey don’t go into businesas for themselves.” For many UW-Whitewater has offered a businese plan course, which will serve as the capston for the major. “We’re very focused on encouraging students tostartf high-impact businesses, not businesses such as coffee shops,” she said.
UW-Whitewater expects to have abou t 70 students in the entrepreneurial class each The expansion of entrepreneurship programs is a positivd development for students and for the potential positive impact onthe state’s UW-Madison’s Olszewski said. “I think it’s a clearlyh a good thing for the he said. “It’s a very collaborative field.”