In the late 1970s, about 500 colleges and universities offered courses in entrepreneurship. By 2005, more than 2,000 did so. Yet there has been no corresponding surge in start-up activity. "The things we've been trying on campuses have had a marginal impact, if that," says Dane Stangler, a researcher at the Kauffman Foundation. To be sure, there are individual programs that have a proven record of generating real companies. What they generally have in common is a belief that entrepreneurship training is for everyone -- not just M.B.A.'s, but engineers and art students, too.
A good case in point is MIT. The school's students and alumni start 200 to 400 businesses a year. One of the keys to that success is the school's Entrepreneurship Center. Launched in 1991, the center serves the university's five schools, acting as the nexus for entrepreneurship classes, clubs, and activities; connecting business students with scientists; and providing physical space, advice, and access to a network of entrepreneurs and investors -- all with the goal of creating new ventures. "We're the DMZ where the geeks can meet the suits and make companies," says the center's managing director, Bill Aulet.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Revitalizing the American Dream: Entrepreneurship Education Beyond Business Schools
Author: Adam Bluestein and Amy Barrett
