University to celebrate entrepreneurship

_Innovation has been a popular word among administration and student leaders for more than two years, ever since the launch of Innovate@Carolina, a $125 million project aimed at making UNC a leading institution in the field.

It will celebrate its progress this week. Global Entrepreneurship Week will consist of discussion panels and lectures to help familiarize students with the University’s entrepreneurship resources and the significance of innovation._

What is entrepreneurship?

Buck Goldstein, the University’s entrepreneur in residence, said entrepreneurship is at the intersection between innovation and execution.

Entrepreneurship is the ability to see opportunity and seize it, he said, and take an idea and bring it into the world as a venture, organization or product.

“We don’t necessarily think of entrepreneurship as being something that exists beyond the world of spreadsheets and three-piece suits, when in fact it can grow up anywhere that someone has a big idea,” said Lizzy Hazeltine, internship director for the entrepreneurship minor.

“Innovate” is a common verb that entrepreneurs use. It can mean thinking about something brand new, or a simple improvement or tweak on an existing process or idea.

How is this relevant to students?

Administrators are quick to point out that most jobs students will likely have in the future have not been created yet.

“The technologies that (students) will use on a daily basis, the ways that they work and the sectors that they work in haven’t really grown up yet, so people are going to need to be flexible in the future,” Hazeltine said.

Because of this, as students enter the work force, it will be important for them to recognize opportunities and jump in at the right moment to take advantage of them.

Additionally, students can expect to have as many as five or six jobs during their careers, many of which will be entrepreneurial in nature.

“We now live in a time where this idea of having just one career or one job for a long time is coming to an end,” said Maryann Feldman, a professor who works with the entrepreneurship minor.

An entrepreneurial mindset is key in helping students apply passions to the real world, said Mathilde Verdier, a program assistant for the economics department.

“Being able to go from textbooks to reality and see how you can apply your knowledge and make a difference can be valuable,” she said.

What resources are there?

Throughout the years, UNC entrepreneurship professors have mapped out a network to help students navigate the ways they can pursue their passions.

Goldstein said he frequently meets with faculty and students to guide them through strategic plans to develop the ideas they have and bring them into the world.

Verdier said that they encourage students by helping them access coworking space, promoting competitions, giving them access to mentors in the community and offering different courses to help them further think about their ideas.

“Even if not all students aspire to be entrepreneurs, the world in our time is never static; it is always being reinvented,” said Judith Cone, special assistant to the chancellor in innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Increasingly, students need to have an entrepreneurial mindset — aware of the possibility of entrepreneurship as a choice at some point in their careers, and know how to engage with the process.”

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