Launch Your Venture With a Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship

Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship Offers Opportunities for Sustainable Development

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The Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship helps launch successful ventures, create and market innovative products, and drives social impact.

Students eager to get their ideas off of the napkin and out into the world are encouraged to apply for the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship, which provides a fast-paced, experiential environment to develop skills as a founder alongside intensive mentoring and soft skills development.

Overview

Overseen by the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the certificate joins graduate students from business and non-business disciplines on interdisciplinary teams together to provide an incubation-like setting for exploring real business ideas and for connecting new technologies to market opportunities.

Sustainable Development Goals

The certificate helps teams launch successful commercial or non-commercial ventures, create and market innovative products and processes, drive social impact, and become leaders and innovators within existing organizations.

Student Testimonial

For Lexi Applequist, the program has helped her “lay the foundation to build a sustainable and impactful business.” Applequist is a doctoral student in the College of Engineering working to design and commercialize organ-mimicking research platforms to reduce animal testing. “I am so grateful to have the funding and access to such an esteemed experiential-based business development program with top faculty,” Applequist said. “Through OEI’s New Venture Development course and customer discovery interviews thus far, I have learned a significant amount about the business side of the pharmaceutical industry and am excited to continue this industry research and company development with my team.”

Information Sessions

OEI will host four information sessions this fall offering more details about the graduate certificate and the corresponding Hodges entrepreneurial fellowship. Registration is requested.

Session No. 1 – Oct. 7, 4-5 p.m.

• Brewer Hub (123 W. Mountain St, Fayetteville, AR)

• Pizza

Session No. 2 – Oct. 23, 12:45-1:45 p.m.

Session No. 3 – Nov. 5, 4:30-5:30 p.m.

Session No. 4 – Nov. 7, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

• Light appetizers

About the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation:

The Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation creates and curates innovation and entrepreneurship experiences for students across all disciplines. Through the Brewer Family Entrepreneurship Hub, McMillon Innovation Studio, Startup Village, and Greenhouse at the Bentonville Collaborative, OEI provides free workshops and programs — including social and corporate innovation design teams, venture internships, competitions and startup coaching. A unit of the Sam M. Walton College of Business and Division of Economic Development, OEI also offers on-demand support for students who will be innovators within existing organizations and entrepreneurs who start something new.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

The article discusses the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship, which focuses on developing skills as a founder, launching successful ventures, creating innovative products, and driving social impact. These themes align with SDG 8, which aims to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all. SDG 9 is also relevant as it emphasizes the importance of building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation. Additionally, the article mentions the goal of creating and marketing innovative products, which relates to SDG 12 and its focus on responsible consumption and production.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.
• SDG 9.3: Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets.
• SDG 12.2: Achieve sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

The article highlights the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship as a program that supports entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation, aligning with SDG 8.3. The program also aims to help students launch successful ventures and connect new technologies to market opportunities, which relates to SDG 9.3. Additionally, the emphasis on creating and marketing innovative products and processes aligns with the target of achieving sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources under SDG 12.2.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Number of students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship program
• Number of successful commercial or non-commercial ventures launched by program participants
• Number of innovative products and processes created and marketed by program participants

The article does not explicitly mention specific indicators. However, the number of students enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship program can be used as an indicator to measure progress towards SDG 8.3. The number of successful ventures launched and the number of innovative products and processes created and marketed by program participants can serve as indicators to measure progress towards SDG 9.3 and SDG 12.2, respectively.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: newswire.uark.edu