The United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) has selected the University of Maryland Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (EIP) as the first-place winner for an Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education award in the Outstanding Specialty Entrepreneurship Program category, university officials announced today.
A joint initiative of the The Honors College and A. James Clark School of Engineering’s Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (Mtech), EIP is a two-year, living-learning program for freshman and sophomore honors students that fosters an entrepreneurial spirit, creates a sense of community and cooperation, and develops ethical and innovative leaders.
A leading voice in entrepreneurship research, teaching, and application, with over 1,000 members across the world, USASBE established the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education Awards to recognize excellence in entrepreneurship education at the programmatic level. Each is awarded on a competitive basis, with only one institution winning in each category during a given year.
“EIP is a growing and dynamic program,” said Clark School Dean and Farvardin Professor Darryll Pines. “Few initiatives have made it to this national scale in less than four years. It is a testament to the passion and dedication of EIP Director Jay Smith, who not only lives and breathes the concept of innovative thinking, but also genuinely cares for each and every one of his students.”
The premise of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (EIP) is simple: take some of the most talented students entering the University of Maryland and teach them how to apply entrepreneurial and innovative thinking to everything they do.
Less than four years after the program’s launch, its students are leaders across the university, winning competitions, starting new ventures, bolstering companies, non-profits and government initiatives, and spreading the mindset that an individual really can change the world.
Students best describe the program’s effectiveness:
“Ever since EIP opened my eyes to the entrepreneurial way of thinking, my mind has been on fire,” said Daniel Barotti, a junior mechanical engineer major who is simultaneously developing a system to improve the coordination of relief organizations during disasters, specially-lighted crosswalks to enhance pedestrian safety, and an online platform that donates money to charities when people play games online. “EIP Director Jay Smith taught us how to take a step back and re-evaluate everything. He encouraged us to start businesses and create the change we’d like to see in the world.”
EIP alumna Ashmi Sheth has interned with Maryland Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown, served as a Changemaker for the social innovation organization Ashoka U, consulted for the banking-for-change company Agora
