Higher Education

Helping universities become more entrepreneurial—not only in what they teach and how they teach it, but in how they operate—is at the heart of the Kauffman Foundation’s work in higher education. We recognize that university environments are natural breeding grounds for creativity, the exchange of ideas, and new ways of looking at and studying things. Colleges and universities have embraced entrepreneurship, making it the fastest-growing field of study on campus and, in some cases, resulting in the emergence of entirely new academic field.

Initiatives

  • The Kauffman Campuses initiative seeks to transform the way colleges and universities make entrepreneurship education available across their campuses, enabling any student, regardless of field of study, to access entrepreneurial training.

  • Kauffman FastTrac™ is a practical, hands-on business development program designed to help entrepreneurs hone the skills needed to create, manage and grow a successful business.

  • This analysis provides valuable insights into how proof of concept centers can facilitate the transfer of university innovations into commercial applications.

  • The Ice House Entrepreneurship Program consists of a book and an online companion course.  The book shares timeless lessons from the life experiences of Clifton Taulbert (successful entrepreneur and acclaimed author) while growing up in the Mississippi Delta.

  • Women Innovators
    View video.   

    The Kauffman Foundation is working to unleash the latent scientific wealth of female scientists, ensuring that they have the support networks and financial means to start businesses and advance their innovations.

Featured Resources

  • eLawThe Entrepreneurship Law (“eLaw”) Web site is an online community and tool devoted to expanding legal entrepreneurship curriculum and education. This Web site contains helpful information and materials for professors, as well as the general public.

  • Entrepreneurship in American Higher EducationThe report explains why entrepreneurship matters to American higher education and offers broad recommendations about the potential of entrepreneurship as a key element in undergraduate education, the major, graduate study, the evaluation of faculty, topics referred to as the "co-curriculum," and the management of universities.