Do you want to use your ideas and education to help solve our complex world's many challenges—but don't know how to begin?
Our Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Academy can help get you started.
UC Davis students in all majors and disciplines—from the life sciences and engineering to the humanities and social sciences—are welcome to apply for this two-session immersion in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Note: We will offer the next academy in Fall Quarter 2022. Please check back for details and to apply.
We are all capable of being an entrepreneur, in some form or another, if we apply the right tools and empower the creator inside us.
—Sana Karimi | B.A., Sociology and Psychology | Director of School Partnerships, Center for Mindfulness and Human Potential
We can change the world with time and effort, regardless of the challenges that need to be overcome.
—Reece Guyon | B.S., Chemical Engineering | Associate Optical Field Engineer, LightRiver Companies
Growth Mindset >>> Solutions
Innovation and entrepreneurship is about much more than launching companies. It represents a mindset that:
- Seeks solutions where others see obstacles.
- Builds uncommon collaborations where others work alone.
- Compels action when others are frozen by uncertainty.
Get Inspired: Join us and ...
- Discover how you can harness the power of innovation to solve big problems
- Understand the core concepts of innovation: creativity, commitment, entrepreneurship
- Grow the initial skills to identify a problem that is worth solving
- Begin to develop your entrepreneurial mindset
You do not have to have an entrepreneurial idea or project that you are currently working on.
Innovate Together
The academy includes lectures, talks by guest entrepreneurs and industry experts, and individual and small-group activities. Come prepared to engage and grow through discussions, teamwork, and the energy and experience of meeting fellow Aggie Innovators from across campus.
Innovation can stem from the motivation to fix a problem that no one else has thought to fix.
Allisa Tran | B.S., Biotechnology | Associate Product Manager, Illumina
- ACADEMY PROGRAM
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DAY 1 | Monday
Time Session 5:30 p.m. Dinner (optional; provided) 6 p.m. Introduction and Welcome On Innovation: Creativity, Commitment and Entrepreneurship Innovation Exercise #1 Uncertainties and Identifying, Defining and Solving Problems Wrap up and Assignment DAY 2 | Thursday
Time Session 5:30 p.m. Dinner (optional; provided) 6 p.m. Reconvene and Opening Discussion Innovation Exercise #2 Recognizing and Validating Technology, Market and Business Uncertainties Building an Entrepreneurial (Network) Mindset Making A Pitch: The Who, What and Why Wrap up and Path Forward 9 p.m. Optional Office Hours/Informal Discussions
Moving Forward
The academy will introduce you to the innovation and entrepreneurship landscape at UC Davis and beyond. You'll learn about coursework and extracurricular activities such as the Big Bang! Business Competition, Little Bang! Poster Competitions, EQUIP, PLASMA and more can help you take your entrepreneurial experience to the next level.
I discovered the importance of staying open to learning new things and being receptive to new opportunities that come my way.
—Shail Trivedi | Mechanical Engineering Major
Meet Your Instructor
Joe DiNunzio is the executive director of the UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and an assistant adjunct professor at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. He is a senior executive with three decades of creative, technical and business leadership creating new ventures and building successful organizations.
Questions
Contact Niki Peterson.
Note: Support for the Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Academy is provided by Blackstone LaunchPad.