The Entrepreneurship and Innovation department offers a variety of programs and opportunities for students to take leadership positions beyond the classroom. Here, students interested in becoming successful entrepreneurs can learn, study, practice and lead.
In our program, students enjoy small classes + big ideas + inspiring dialogue with likeminded founder types from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
From 91¿´Æ¬Íø competitions to national pitch competitions to social innovation club, check out how our students participate in the most popular minor on campus:
Student Led Organizations
The ENTP Society is a family of innovators and visionaries who come together to share ideas, collaborate and grow together.
TEDx 91¿´Æ¬Íø
TEDx 91¿´Æ¬Íø is a student-led TED-affiliate event dedicated to spark deep discussion and connection. TEDx 91¿´Æ¬Íø - Ideas Worth Spreading for our students, by our students.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programs
A.B. Dick Lecture
The annual A.B. Dick Lecture on Entrepreneurship at 91¿´Æ¬Íø is a series of talks from industry leaders and innovators. Talks explore everything from ideation to corporate innovation. Dedicated to A.B. Dick, a local Chicago entrepreneur famed for inventing the mimeograph.
Latinx Entrepreneurial Advancement Program (LEAP)
LEAP’s goal is to help our Latinx and firstgeneration students engage in entrepreneurial thinking and action through self-discovery, peerto-peer engagement, failure resilience, rigorous coursework, and pitch competitions and storytelling. Interactions with local founders allows 91¿´Æ¬Íø students to learn from and lift up the greater Lake County area.
Global Entrepreneurship Week inspires our local and global entrepreneurial community to engage in events and activities while connecting them to potential collaborators, mentors, and even investors!
91¿´Æ¬Íø Competitions
Venture Design Challenge
Our annual Venture Design Challenge provides a forum for 91¿´Æ¬Íø students to collaborate, develop, and pitch business and social venture idea. Finalists pitch to local business leaders while competing for $10,000 in cash prizes. The competition is open to all students.
Davis Projects for Peace
Projects for Peace is a resource for students to design grassroots projects that build peace. With $10,000 in funding, students can pursue their passion for social innovation and create real change.
Scholarships
SquareFoot is launching a $5,000 scholarship contest available to rising seniors passionate about real estate, business, and technology.
James Rocco Scholarship
The James Rocco Quantitative Data Research Scholarship provides up to $5,000 to support innovative, student-designed quantitative research projects to be carried out during the summer or the academic year.
his $1,000 scholarship program has been created with the purpose of helping students succeed move forward with their education and future entrepreneurial endeavors.
Emerging Entrepreneur Scholarship Grant. Got an innovative business idea? We’ve got $5000 to get you started. We believe in the power of entrepreneurship. If you have a business startup idea you think the world needs to hear about, we’ll help to get the word out.
If you want scholarships, then you want Scholly. There is free money for college out there, and Scholly has helped students just like you win over $100 million in scholarship awards.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Innovation Week
- Faculty
- Course Descriptions
- Requirements
- Student Learning Outcomes
- Internships and Careers
- Entrepreneurship Advisory Council
- Entrepreneurship Alumni Board
- Venture Design Challenge
- News and Events
- Programs and Opportunities
- InnovationSpaces
- Chicago’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
- Oppenheimer Center