UA’s Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute to be Part of Global Observance

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Alabama Entrepreneurship Institute at The University of Alabama will join more than 650 organizations in the United States to observe Global Entrepreneurship Week Nov. 16 – 22.

To celebrate the week, the institute, known as AEI, will collaborate with organizations across campus to provide students with a variety of experiences to promote entrepreneurship in general and spotlight international entrepreneurship.

During the week, workshops and interactive speaker panels will be hosted by organizations such as the Entrepreneurship Council, the Entrepreneurship Club, Students in Free Enterprise and International Programs in the Culverhouse College of Commerce.  The highlight of the week will be the campus-wide business plan competition and the concept pitch competition, both sponsored by AEI.

Co-founded last year by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in the United States and Make Your Mark, a business-led government-backed campaign in the United Kingdom, Global Entrepreneurship Week will connect young people through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, employees, non-profit leaders, government officials and others will participate in a host of activities that include virtual and face-to-face events, large-scale competitions and intimate networking gatherings.

Organizers said this year’s observance is expected to exceed the three million people and 8,800 organizations around the globe that participated in the inaugural Global Entrepreneurship Week. More than 650 organizations in more than 80 countries have signed up already.

“We have participated in GEW since its inception because we believe we can’t overemphasize the impact of the global economy and its impact on local entrepreneurship efforts,” said David Ford, clinical professor and the Sam Walton fellow in the UA department of management and marketing.

Dr. Lou Marino, professor of strategic management and AEI executive director, agreed. “Entrepreneurial firms are increasingly born global, and GEW helps our students identify promising opportunities for new ventures in the global arena,” Marino said.

“The world knows that entrepreneurship is the key to economic recovery, and the next generation of innovators holds that key,” said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. “Now more than ever, we need to unleash the creativity and ingenuity of our youth by engaging them in the endless possibilities of entrepreneurship.”

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private nonpartisan foundation that promotes entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare. Founded by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Mo. and has approximately $2 billion in assets.