There has been no better time to build your network – on a global scale – quite like the present. With opportunities to meet with individuals from around the world with the click of a button, the new normal has made individuals rethink what an immersive experience can truly be. There is a way to connect, build your network, and grow as an entrepreneur – all from the comfort of your computer!
European Innovation Academy – Global, like so many institutions, has adapted its summer abroad to a virtual format, allowing students to gain the insight and knowledge they seek from some of the world’s top entrepreneurs. As one of the world’s first online study abroad programs, this dedicated U-M partner is providing a real-world, immersive experience for an international and multidisciplinary community. In July 2021, CFE and IPE will mark their six years together bringing U-M undergrads from nearly all schools and colleges to EIA.
“We believe that now, more than ever, it is important to educate students in the field of entrepreneurship,” says EIA’s CEO, Anni Sinijarv. “Therefore we have built a hyper-personalized gamified 3 week program that will be next-level when it comes to teaching entrepreneurship. We will still have our global mentors, live mentoring sessions and be bringing together hundreds of students from about 60 different countries!”
Over three intense weeks, participating undergrads will learn what it takes to become an entrepreneur and take part in a life-changing experience. To go from an idea to a tech start-up is the ultimate goal for participants. With the course divided into four stages, students will spend time meeting one another, performing customer and market validation, discovering product features and ways of growth hacking, and finally finding users and honing their pitch to investors.
Multidisciplinary teams are generated so that every team has at least one designer, one business student, one marketing student, and two engineers. Building a team like this benefits students even after the summer is over, as these are the peers who may let you know down the line if their company is looking for someone in your area of expertise.
Plus, with mentors and speakers ranging from founders to board members to venture capitalists to product developers and strategists, participants will receive a diverse and well-rounded dive into a global startup scene.
At the end of the program, teams pitch their product to various venture capitalists, and have a chance to gain seed funding from investing firms such as Alchemist Accelerator, Amazon Capital, Garages Technology Ventures, LC Ventures, Singtel Innov8 Ventures and more.
One of the most common refrains from alumni is that they wish they had done a better job networking while in college. Not only is it a great suggestion to do this with fellow students and faculty at U-M, but externally as well. The landscape for business is ever evolving, co-founders can live on other continents and many jobs can be done remotely. Why not do what you can to gain college credit, build your professional network, and acquire experiences that could launch you into your future?
Visit U-M IPE’s website to learn more by clicking here. Upon successful completion of EIA, 3 credits (transferred from 6 ECTS) earned in College of Engineering ENTR.