Budding Entrepreneurs from DCUBS and Arizona State University Collaborate in Invent DCU - 15th April 2009

Students from Arizona State University (ASU) are visiting DCU this week to collaborate on international entrepreneurial projects with final year students at DCU Business School. The three groups of students are meeting face-to-face for the first time, having collaborated over the past year using web technologies.

In 2007, a pilot programme, International Student Exchange Support (ISES) was initiated between ASU and DCU as part of the ongoing ASU/DCU strategic alliance.

Final year Business Studies and European Business students at DCU take a year-long module in New Enterprise Development, which aims to introduce participants to the theory and practice of entrepreneurship. Co-ordinated by Dr Sarah Ingle, the main academic assignment for this module is the development of a business plan from an original idea in teams of three or four students.

In ASU, under the Edson programme, those studying at undergraduate or graduate level are provided with the opportunity to apply for substantial funding and office facilities, in order to set up their own business while still a student. In this, and the last academic year, three teams from ASU have worked with three DCU teams to develop a particular idea in an Irish/European environment.

Invent Mentors

On 15^th April, the Invent team of commercialisation specialists provided mentoring support to the students on the technologies they are developing and the commercialistaion opportunities that exist for them. The students then pitched their ideas and were given feedback from the Invent mentors. ‘This is a really exciting initiative and there is a lot of potential in the new business ideas outlined,’ said Richard Stokes, CEO of Invent DCU. Invent DCU was delighted be involved in the project.

The ISES programme greatly facilitates the internationalisation of business education in an entrepreneurial context, and both the US and Irish students involved have gained both academically and professionally from their involvement. They interact with their counterparts via email and Skype calls on a regular basis over the academic year in order to complete the required deadlines and assignments.

In 2008/2009 the business ideas and DCU teams involved are:

The Edson programme this year has provided funding for the Edson students to visit DCU from 15-17th April 2009, thus facilitating even greater interaction between the international teams. The ASU students will be accompanied by Mr Scott Perkofski, Manager of the Edson Programme in ASU, and Ms Terree Wasley, Director, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, ASU.  

The three teams involved are:

The Energy Derived Team	The EzBio Team	The Textfinity Team