The impact of entrepreneurial education
How George Mason University uses local business partnerships to create experiential learning opportunities for students.
By WP Creative Group
May 24, 2024
John Boal Photography
On April 11, a crowd gathered in the Johnson Center Bistro on George Mason University’s Fairfax campus to watch the final round of the Patriot Pitch Competition. This annual event invites students and recent alumni from all fields of study to pitch their business ventures to a panel of judges composed of George Mason stakeholders and successful entrepreneurs. The selected semifinalist teams represented students and alumni from six George Mason colleges and schools.
Over the course of three hours, students pitched a variety of innovative business ideas – from ventures aiming to provide older adults with nutritious meal plans to startups focused on improving products and systems for drone operations.
At the end of the afternoon, a total of $40,000 had been awarded to help bring the winning ideas to life.
The Patriot Pitch Competition is just one of the experiential learning opportunities offered to students and recent alumni through the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), founded in 2014 at Costello College of Business at George Mason University.
“The center celebrated its 10-year anniversary in April, which is a significant milestone in the startup world, given the large percentage of startups that fail before reaching the ten-year mark,” said Rebecca Howick, director of operations and engagement for the CIE. “Over the years, the center’s mission has evolved to more closely align with Costello College of Business strategic priorities of student experience and career readiness, innovative business collaboration, inclusive excellence and cohesive culture, as well as the university’s Mason Virginia Promise, which is a pathway to a bachelor’s degree or help starting a business for every Virginian.”
Costello College of Business makes hands-on learning experiences like the Patriot Pitch Competition possible through strategic partnerships with local businesses and regional government entities.
In October 2023, Fairfax City mayor and George Mason University alumna Catherine S. Read (BA ’84) and Costello College of Business Dean Ajay Vinzé signed a partnership agreement aimed at promoting economic growth in the city while also giving students access to experiential learning opportunities that will benefit local businesses, students and entrepreneurial-minded community members.
“The Costello College of Business is increasingly focused on student experience and career readiness via public, private and academic partnerships,” said JK Aier, senior associate dean for academic affairs and global engagement. “This partnership will extend the walls of the business college’s classrooms into the local business community by affording business students with the opportunity to learn and practice leadership skills across several industries.”
By partnering with local business leaders and lowering the barriers to entrepreneurial education and resources in Fairfax, George Mason University is transforming the future of business.
Fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among students and community members
Entrepreneurship plays a substantial role in the economic growth of a community, leading to innovative ideas, job creation and social change. When universities encourage an entrepreneurial spirit, students are not only prepared to thrive in their careers, but to have a positive impact on their communities.
“Many universities and business schools in this country have a center for entrepreneurship,” said Aier. “What makes our approach, and our center, unique is our focus on ‘inclusive entrepreneurship.’”
The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Costello College of Business drives growth of the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem of Virginia by not only empowering students and alumni, but also spearheading entrepreneurship training and support resources for aspiring entrepreneurs in the community who do not currently have adequate access to this type of education. The center targets three distinct communities of aspiring entrepreneurs within the Commonwealth: refugees and immigrants, people currently in a low socioeconomic status and residents of rural and emerging communities.
In September 2023, CIE launched an inclusive entrepreneurship training initiative called SOAR, which stands for Startup approach that empowers underserved communities; Opportunities for community-building and engagement; Access to mentoring and credentialing assistance; and Roadmap to successful business, career paths and quality of life outcomes.
John Boal Photography
“As the most diverse public institution in Virginia, we have an obligation to open up our resources and expertise to community members that traditionally don’t have access to entrepreneurship training opportunities,” said Howick. “Not everyone has the financial means or time to earn a four-year degree. George Mason University, the Costello College of Business, and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship are closely aligned in our efforts to help transform lives and drive economic growth in our community through entrepreneurship.”
The Shrivastava Family Refugee and Immigrant Success through Entrepreneurship, or RISE program, is the first of three programs launching under the new SOAR initiative.
Made possible through the generous support of George Mason alumnus Sumeet Shrivastava (MBA ’94), and in partnership with Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA) Resource Center, RISE is focused on training and mentoring for aspiring entrepreneurs from refugee and immigrant backgrounds. CIE also puts a high priority on providing access to networking opportunities and connecting them with existing community resources such as George Mason’s Small Business Development Centers, local Economic Development Authorities, and additional local resources for entrepreneurs to ensure the long- term sustainability and success of their venture. The first cohort of RISE participants — 26 in all — will celebrate their completion of this non-credit bearing program in June.
“No matter what their calling in life might be, all individuals will need business skills to navigate evolving markets and secure long-term success,” said Aier. “We believe that all individuals, regardless of their educational or socioeconomic status, should have the opportunity to control their own business destinies and to experience the financial autonomy that entrepreneurship can provide.”
Shrivastava, a long-time resident of Fairfax County, Virginia and a leader in the government IT industry, is also the son of a successful immigrant entrepreneur.
“The folks who are coming from very difficult situations, are already showing some of the core attributes required of entrepreneurs — courage, resilience, and expertise from their prior lives,” he says. “We can help them get a quicker start into that part of their journey here and help them succeed.”
After an initial six-week training program, the first RISE cohort has completed six weeks of an entrepreneurship bootcamp and twelve weeks of mentoring, and is now wrapping up thirteen weeks of the student consulting phase. The student consultants are Costello students from Professor Niki Vlastara’s Marketing 303 class and a small team of consulting students in paid roles working directly with associate director of student programs and community initiatives for the CIE Crystal Fickers. While the cohort participants gain vital insights needed to launch their businesses, students are engaged in a rich, hands-on learning experience that combines experiential and theoretical knowledge.
“The students are helping the aspiring entrepreneurs develop marketing plans for their business ventures, and are also assisting them with market research needs,” said Howick. “In turn, this experience helps students to develop soft skills like critical thinking, interpersonal communications, problem solving and teamwork — all of which are necessary, really, for career success in almost any field.”
These aspiring entrepreneurs, many of whom have overcome adversity in their own journeys to become successful entrepreneurs, are inspiring the students they are working with.
In addition to the CIE, Aier says the Costello College of Business continues to look for ways to expand experiential learning opportunities through additional centers of excellence focused on different industries: Center for Real Estate Entrepreneurship (CREE), Center for Retail Transformation (CRT), and the newly named Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting.
Among the projects slated to launch are a vendor management experience for students with retailers in the Old Town Fairfax Business Association’s Wander In retail incubator; an in-store retail management experience with CRT students and Fairfax City retailers; and a study by students from the Greg and Camille Baroni Center for Government Contracting, in coordination with the Mason Enterprise Center, to identify ways to improve business outcomes for small business federal contractors.
Instead of seeing education and business as separate, these outreach programs aim to create a partnership between them, leading to economic growth across Fairfax.
“The exchange of a broad range of ideas, experiences, and perspectives not only sustains our commitment to the personal and intellectual growth of our students,” said Aier. “It also builds local, regional, national, and global communities where everyone thrives.”
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