STUDENT VENTURE CAPITAL PROGRAM—ANALYSIS, LEARNING AND IMPLICATIONS

Higher education must reflect the experience and conditions of contemporary life and the new economy. Education cannot be successful if it becomes stagnant and parochial. Students cannot comprehend a world academia does not address. University must educate students to be contributing members of the society and to lead it in new directions.

The economic landscape is poised for a tectonic shift with robotics and artificial intelligence lurking on the horizon. In the very near future, most of the people will find employment through their entrepreneurial endeavors rather than jobs. Entrepreneurship will increasingly play more important role in global development. It is expected that entrepreneurship will contribute to growth and employment creation in advanced, emerging, and least developed economies alike. Are higher education institutions teaching students to be entrepreneurial disruptors?

Although entrepreneurship has traditionally been part of the business school curricula, it emerged as a separate area of study over the past few years. Entrepreneurship is collaborative and trans-disciplinary. Having entrepreneurship programs being part of just the business school restricts its scope and reach to non-business students. What is required is a program that allows students from any specialization to collaborate and pursue their venture.

Students learn best when they can live what they learn. One of the best ways to learn entrepreneurship is to actually be an entrepreneur and create a business. With this in mind the Student Venture Program was created using the venture-funding model for budding entrepreneurs. It gives students the opportunity to pursue entrepreneurial ventures by providing seed and early stage funding. Students from all disciplines and backgrounds have applied and become part of this program. The program has created an interdisciplinary community where students work together under guidance from industry professionals and university faculty, to pursue ideas and projects that inspire their passion.

The paper will present analysis, learning and implications of the program through case studies and examples. It will also discuss its impact on all the stakeholders.