| About the S.U. Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program
Are you living an entrepreneurial life? Are you a dreamer and a doer? Do you continually look for ways to make things better, to improve upon the status quo, to find a better way? Is failure something you recognize as a necessary ingredient in learning how to succeed? Do you want your life to be about making a difference?
If the answer to any (or all) of these questions is "yes," then the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (EEE) Program at Syracuse University exists for you. We believe entrepreneurship is not simply something one does over a defined period of time -- it is a philosophy of life. It is about bringing a spirit of innovativeness, calculated risk-taking, and proactive behavior to everything you do. For us, entrepreneurs are people who pursue their dreams with conviction and passion, and persevere regardless of the obstacles or resource limitations.
People such as Michael Dell, Richard Branson, Robert L. Johnson, Oprah Winfrey and Mary Kay Ash are certainly notable entrepreneurs. But so too are Mohandas K. Gandhi, Ralph Nader, and Mother Teresa. Each of these individuals had a dream and a vision, and each changed the world by persisting in making their dreams into realities. Some entrepreneurs change the world a lot, and some just a little. Most are very ordinary people who manage to do extraordinary things.
 Our goal in the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program is to help students and others discover their innate entrepreneurial potential, and to give them a set of tools and perspectives for capitalizing on that potential. There are many paths that an entrepreneurial student can pursue. All of them are integral to our program. Consider the possibilities:
- Some of our graduates start their own ventures.
- Others seek to work in fast-growth, innovative firms.
- Still others want to take over family-owned companies.
- Some want to buy a business or acquire a franchise.
- Others desire to be corporate entrepreneurs, pursuing entrepreneurial ideas and concepts in larger, established organizations.
- Many want to be social entrepreneurs, creating new non-profit enterprises or social inventions that create value by addressing societal needs in new and different ways.
- Others look to be entrepreneurs in the public sector.
- Some students simply want to bring an entrepreneurial perspective to their own discipline, such as architecture, engineering or the arts.
The context does not matter. What matters are the attitude, the values, and the conviction of the individual. For this reason, the motto of our program is DREAM > BELIEVE > PURSUE. Consistent with this motto and philosophy, the Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises has been designed to be a total student experience, not simply a set of courses or initiatives. It combines a leading edge and highly unique set of entrepreneurship courses with a number of extracurricular activities and experiential opportunities involving entrepreneurs and their firms. Students are encouraged to build a portfolio of accomplishments while pursuing the major or minor. By the time they complete the program, they may have written a business plan, completed a consulting project with a small firm, developed a business model, designed a number of marketing inventions, competed in a business plan competition, performed an entrepreneurial audit of a company, and more.
The Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program attracts students from every discipline on campus and at every level, from freshmen to graduate students. For undergraduate students, we offer a major and minor, as well as the option of just enrolling in individual courses. For MBA and other master's students, we offer graduate-level courses and a concentration in global entrepreneurial management (GEM).
As part of a major research institution, the Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises Program also supports an active agenda of leading edge research, publishes two academic journals, and disseminates knowledge that serves the needs of practicing entrepreneurs. The program is also closely connected to our community. Through the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship we support a variety of innovative programs that serve our region, our country, and international constituencies. |
