Wake Forest, Elon host Second Annual University Entrepreneurship Summit of North Carolina
The Second Annual University Entrepreneurship Summit of North Carolina will be held Wednesday, Nov. 4 from 10 am to 4 pm in Wake Forest University’s Deacon Tower at BB&T Field.
The Wake Forest University Angell Center for Entrepreneurship and the Elon University Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership are hosting the event, which is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Despite numerous entrepreneurship education programs and activities at universities and colleges throughout the state, communication is often sporadic as many programs operate in isolation while addressing common issues. During the one-day summit, entrepreneurial leaders from around the state — including faculty, staff and students — will share best practices, exchange ideas, form collaborations and work to develop better integrated strategies.
About 60 schools and more than 90 people have registered for the event. “All will come with a lot of interest and enthusiasm,” said Stan Mandel, executive professor and director at the Angell Center. “Last year’s event (at Elon) was a great success, and also a sell-out.”
Mandel said participants will discuss current issues but will also talk about what entrepreneurial education and center activity might look like in the future.
The summit, Mandel said, began after a meeting with Gary Palin, executive director of the Doherty Center and a faculty member of the Love School of Business at Elon.
“We both realized that there are a number of colleges and universities in North Carolina and the area that do not or cannot attend national entrepreneurship conferences, so we decided to take a leadership role and host such an event.” Mandel said. “Entrepreneurship efforts are an important part of the learning experience at the Wake Forest Schools of Business, as exemplified by our recent ranking by Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review. The graduate business school was recognized as having one of the top 25 entrepreneurship programs in the country from more than 2,300 schools surveyed. Wake Forest ranked 24th in the graduate category of the survey,” added Mandel.
Deacon Tower is at 499 Deacon Boulevard in Winston-Salem.