Entrepreneurship as Part of the Syllabus
Traditional business programs that focus exclusively on classroom experiences and theoretical knowledge are inadequate. If colleges are to prepare students for success in the modern business world adequately, they must fuse classroom learning with relevant real-world experiences. As the business world evolves, academic programs must continually evolve with it, continuously seeking an optimal blend of theory and experience that helps ensure student achievement.
Entrepreneurs and the businesses that they start are the engines of economic growth. Successful entrepreneurs not only build wealth for themselves, but they are a source of wealth for others. They do this by creating both jobs and investment opportunities. Innovative startups can improve the economic well-being of entire regions, especially in less prosperous areas. The critical element that allows entrepreneurs to generate wealth is the ability to develop innovative products and services. Economists have long theorized that entrepreneurial success is at least partly a function of the economic and political climate where an idea is formed and begins to develop into a business. To be successful, today's entrepreneurs need the competitive edge that a global perspective can provide.
The College of Business Administration (CBA) at California State University Long Beach has a long history of teaching excellence. The Accelerated MBA Program boasts a world-class faculty that bring both industry experience and high academic quality to the classroom. During the student’s first academic year the Program focuses on these strengths as students engage the core business curriculum that introduces them to entrepreneurship and innovation. The classroom experience, however, is only the beginning of a journey toward successful business innovation.
The Program offers a learning context in which students have the opportunity to participate as a consultant or to be part of an innovation team. The CBA goes beyond the confines of the traditional lecture-based classroom and provides students with world-class experiences designed to provide them with opportunities to apply their knowledge in real-world settings. The premise is simple: Classroom instruction is tremendously valuable, but experiential learning is the key to synthesizing that scholarship and applying it in the real world of business.
In the second year of the program, courses integrate entrepreneurship and innovation wherever possible. Students first encounter fundamental principles of entrepreneurship in a General Entrepreneurship course. Students then advance to the Entrepreneurship Marketing course and finally take the Finance in Entrepreneurship course. While engaging this material in the classroom, students have the opportunity to engage in real-world entrepreneurship and innovation.
For example, CBA students have the chance to participate in the Innovation Challenge, which is an opportunity for students to use innovation and entrepreneurship to make a difference in local and global communities by turning pioneering ideas into innovative businesses. Students also have the opportunity to study entrepreneurship abroad to gain a truly global perspective on an increasingly global economy.
These innovative learning strategies seek to meld business theory and classroom instruction with highly relevant field experiences that clarify and solidify best practices in entrepreneurship, preparing students to excel in a dynamic global business environment. For example, CBA students recently visited Torre in Bogota, Colombia. Torre is a startup founded in San Francisco by a Colombian entrepreneur who revolutionized the voiceover industry with VoiceBunny.
The company began by using sophisticated algorithms to match voiceover actors with businesses needing those services. The algorithms then coordinate the delivery of the work with the voice actor, as well as performing automated quality control. The initial success of the technology spawned similar products for other types of media, ultimately connecting a wide array of talent with a global business community in need of those creative services. CBA students visited Torre as part of a learning experience where they explored the benefits and challenges of starting new businesses in Colombia and South America.
By participating in these study abroad experiences, students learn how to bring new products and services to market. They also develop the abilities to quantify risk, manage small business ventures, and identify business opportunities. Students learn entrepreneurship best when they have the opportunity to gain a first hand, global perspective through professional participation in the launching and early operation of new businesses.
What elevates the CBA above the crowd is its recognition that classroom learning is only the beginning of a journey toward innovation.
