The Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship has announced the selection of the 2020-21 Veale Entrepreneurship Fellows. This program supports faculty, staff or teams to create new initiatives, including specific types of engagement efforts, research proposals and formal or informal educational activities that advance the Veale Institute’s mission. Veale’s initiative is to be a catalyst for venture creation and commercialization, entrepreneurial learning and programming, and communication, by supporting new initiatives or expanding existing ventures that need resources to grow.
Read about the inaugural fellows and their projects below.
Mini Course in STEM Innovation Forecasting
Edward Caner, instructor of physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, and his team intend to pilot “Intro to Science and Technology Innovation Forecasting,” a one-credit innovation and entrepreneurship mini-course to be offered in the 2020-21 academic year. This course will target graduate students in non-professional programs and advanced undergraduate students in STEM.
Founder Well-being Circle
Mandy Varley, a PhD student in the Department of Organizational Behavior at Weatherhead School of Management, and Ellen Van Oosten, faculty director of executive education, are zeroing in on the mental health of entrepreneurs. Studies show that elements of startup life can cause high levels of stress and social isolation because of long work hours. Participating in a program like Founder Well-being Circle would result in entrepreneurs that have better wellness practices, a greater understanding of authentic leadership models and a wider network of supportive relationships.
Alumni Engagement–Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship Collaborative Programming
In an effort to connect the Veale Institute with alumni, Chamois Williams, director of alumni engagement, will work to develop unique events and programming around entrepreneurship with domestic and international outreach. These programs will enhance networking both among alumni and between alumni and current students.
Fowler Center’s Social Impact 360 Program
Megan Buchter, director of the Fowler Center for Business as an agent of world benefit, will assist students in developing social entrepreneurship plans through Impact 360, a program to train young people on building businesses that solve social issues and creating social impact in corporate America. Impact 360 allows students from a variety of programs across CWRU to learn about and create their own social ventures.
Maximizing Entrepreneurial-Focused Educational Opportunities in Nursing
With the creation of a dual-degree BSN-MBA and MSN-MBA between the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the Weatherhead School of Management, Todd Smith, director of the Dorothy Ebersbach/Callahan Family Academic Center for Emergency, Air-medical Transport, and Critical Care Education Center, and his team believe there are significant opportunities to promote collaboration between the two schools and a chance to create new pathways of learning that are essential to the advancement of both.
Building Digital Start-up Ecosystem on Ethical Tech
To build a strong ecosystem around ethical technology at CWRU, Youngjin Yoo, Elizabeth M. and WIlliam C. Treuhaft Professor of Entrepreneurship, will hold a series of training sessions. These sessions will cover various social, psychological, legal and economic issues related to the ethical use of technology.
Advancing Pre-Accelerators, Accelerators, Angel Investors and Venture Capital
Scott Shane, the A. Malachi Mixon III Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies & Economics at Weatherhead School of Management, will work to progress student and alumni ventures, with an eye toward competitions, pre-accelerators and accelerators. This includes managing and enhancing the Morgenthaler Pavey Startup Competition, and helping the ventures gain access to accelerators, pre-accelerators, angel investors and venture capital funds.
Training Biomedical Graduate Students to be Entrepreneurial
Tessiana Misko, program manager of training and educational opportunities at the School of Medicine, will bring leading experts in specialized areas of entrepreneurship to campus to provide hands-on learning for students in the School of Medicine. Sessions may include enhancing presentation skills, developing elevator pitches, creating business plans and more.
NeuroDesign Fellowship
Andrew Cornwell, associate director of Case-Coulter Translational Research Partnership in the School of Engineering, will work on the Cleveland NeuroDesign Innovation Fellowship, which develops trained experts to efficiently bring clinically impactful products successfully to market by equipping fellows with a proven, repeatable process to identify health care needs, invent novel health technologies to address them, and prepare to implement those products into patient care.
Entrepreneurship in Low-Resource Environments Educational Modules
Lynn Rollins, program director for Center for Engineering Action, will design a four- to six-module curriculum that will be used as a part of Community Engaged, Interdisciplinary Team Based Design Projects ENGR 395 and Community Problem Solving USNA 298T. Those involved will work on projects that focus on developing devices and technologies appropriate for low-resource settings.
Digital and Information Literacy Education
Amanda Koziura, librarian, will develop workshops, modules and co-sponsored seminars focused on enhancing digital and information literacy skills, and preparing students to engage with the global information environment. This series, and the eventual course, will provide students with foundational skill sets that will allow them to better interrogate, analyze, and use the information at their fingertips to build connections, enhance their ideas, and achieve their entrepreneurial goals.