Students speak out about school’s entrepreneurship program
On Tuesday, Sept. 22, the UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration‘s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (IEI) was recognized as having one of the top 25 graduate entrepreneurship programs in the country by The Princeton Review. This is the first time in its history that Bloch has been ranked in the top tier of entrepreneurial colleges and business schools.
The seventh annual ranking reveals the nation’s top 25 graduate and top 25 undergraduate programs for entrepreneurship. Bloch’s ranking can be seen at www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges, along with information on overall trends found with social and sustainable entrepreneurship, experiential learning and entrepreneurship as a means of reaching out both internationally and locally.
“IEI has one of the largest and highest quality entrepreneurship faculties in the world,” said Dr. Michael Song, executive director of the Institute and the world’s No. 1 scholar for innovation management. “We continue to develop new paradigms for entrepreneurship research and education, creating models others will follow.”
The IEI program was evaluated based on key criteria in the areas of academics and requirements, students and faculty, and outside-the-classroom experiences. Amy Cosper, VP/editor in chief at Entrepreneur, says “Each school that made the list demonstrates excellence in one or more areas — areas including course offerings, the success of students post-graduation and sponsored mentorship programs. Inclusion in this ranking solidifies this program’s place in an elite category of institutions offering a superlative level of education and preparedness the will play a key role in ensuring the success of tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.”
“The importance of this accomplishment is more than just the ranking. What the Bloch School and UMKC are doing is creating the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said Henry Bloch, co-founder of H&R Block and Bloch School benefactor. “We must finish what we’ve started. Now is the perfect time to support the Institute and the Bloch School and help propel their work in entrepreneurship and innovation to the highest levels of excellence.”
Currently, IEI has 195 students enrolled in its entrepreneurship degree-seeking program with 334 students taking classes while enrolled in other academic units on campus. The IEI program’s goal is to inspire students to become active participants in entrepreneurship and innovation.