While much of the education at business schools is aimed at teaching concepts for large businesses, vast career opportunities exist in small and especially new businesses. Fully 99% of all companies are small and mid-sized businesses. These types of firms offer around 50% of all jobs. Their overall share in the job market is rising substantially. Recent success stories like Google, Skype, or YouTube show the exciting opportunities in entrepreneurship. Loyola University Chicago’s Entrepreneurship program is dedicated to empowering students to become entrepreneurs by creating their own firms or joining entrepreneurial firms. We want to provide a platform for interaction and learning between students and entrepreneurs. Our program has three distinct characteristics: 1. Impact on society Throughout the coursework we focus on entrepreneurial endeavours that have a high impact on society. Reflecting this orientation special emphasis is put on social entrepreneurship and high-growth entrepreneurship. In all classes we stress the importance of creating meaningful ventures from a personal and social point of view. Additionally, the courses are designed not just to provide academic learning experiences but also real-life experiences. The close interaction with practitioners and hands-on project work will assure the relevance of our entrepreneurship education. 2. International perspective Reflecting the Jesuit tradition, entrepreneurship education at Loyola University Chicago will be based on a broader perspective – crossing regional and national frontiers. Our goal is to provide an entrepreneurial education that leverages international diversity to create a special local, national, and international impact. In this regard our major can benefit from the international background of our faculty and students, our international business network, our international cooperations, and our international locations (Chicago, Rome, Beijing). 3. Innovation Entrepreneurs are oftentimes describes as individuals who bring innovations to the market place. They propel societal development by introducing change. In this regard our entrepreneurship program aims to foster innovative thinking and acting. Throughout our program we discuss the advantages and challenges of dealing with innovations. We apply innovative teaching methods to make students experience innovation. Overall, the Entrepreneurship program is designed to fulfil Loyola University Chicago’s goal of “Preparing people to live extraordinary lives”.
