The Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies is a campus-wide initiative that serves Washington University in St. Louis and the broader St. Louis community.
The Skandalaris Center reports to Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton, who has charged the Center with igniting entrepreneurial interest and learning in all disciplines including business, law, physical sciences, social sciences, art, architecture, engineering, medicine and social work. The center is the hub of entrepreneurial activity on campus, working to build an innovation environment in the seven schools of the university where ideas and people can connect and cause action that changes lives.
History
The Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies was founded in 2003 when Washington University was selected as one of eight initial Kauffman Campuses. Since its establishment, the center has funded and coordinated a rich set of entrepreneurship courses and programs that span across all schools, degrees and disciplines.These opportunities create valuable experiences that support student and community interest in commercial, social, global, technology, law, art and intellectual entrepreneurship.
Internship Program
In 2008, a generous gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Skandalaris launched the Skandalaris Center Internship Program for undergraduate students in all schools at the university. Student interns receive a stipend as well as room and board on campus, or a living allowance for students who choose to live off campus. The internship is ten weeks long, and the cost to a first-time sponsoring organization is a $1,000 payment to support the program. Both commercial and social ventures are eligible, almost all with less than 20 employees where the intern is reporting directly to the venture’s founder. Now in its fourth year, the program and its students have contributed significantly to the host organizations, with CEOs commenting that their Skandalaris interns were pivotal in moving their organizations forward. Several companies have offered students extended internships and full-time employment.
Curriculum
The university’s seven schools all take leadership in curriculum by creating student-interest learning tracks in their discipline area. Additionally, the Skandalaris Center issues a Certificate of Accomplishment in Entrepreneurship to students who exhibit entrepreneurial competence by completing a mixture of academic and co-curricular options.
Washington University offers a total of 55 entrepreneurship courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level. Undergraduate students in any school or college may earn a major in commercial entrepreneurship through the Olin Business School. MBA students may select a concentration in entrepreneurship to help them understand the entrepreneurial mindset and approach to problem solving.
The Hatchery, the capstone entrepreneurial experience, teams students from diverse schools, disciplines and degree programs together in working groups to create a business plan for a new commercial or social venture.
Outreach on campus and in the community
All students and community members are welcomed and encouraged to participate in Skandalaris Center events. Enrollment at the university is not a prerequisite.
In addition, the Skandalaris Center collaborates with other centers and programs at Washington University to help build an innovation environment where ideas, people and actions change lives. Collaborators include the Design Research Studio at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts; the Center for Experiential Learning at the Olin Business School; the Intellectual Property and Nonprofit Organizations Clinic at the Law School, and the campus-wide Community Service Office and Gephardt Institute for Public Service.
IdeaBounce®
IdeaBounce® is the gateway for all Skandalaris programs. Our intent with the IdeaBounce® website and events is to create a collaborative learning environment where people at the idea creation phase may discuss ideas openly, brainstorm, and connect with people to help each other. Student, faculty, and community entrepreneurs – anyone in the world - may post their ideas to the site. Visitors to the site can filter ideas to quickly find bouncers who fit their own interests or experiences. In addition to the virtual connections through the website, bouncers at IdeaBounce® events pitch their ideas in 2-minutes. Judges select winners based on the clarity of the idea, the passion of the presenter, and the request for help. The request for help is key, as the purpose of the event is to help connect bouncers with the resources they need to move their ideas forward. The event concludes with a reception so all bouncers may receive feedback, and winners receive a cash prize plus an invitation to a private dinner with the judges. The Skandalaris Center welcomes inquiries from others wishing to host an IdeaBounce® event.
Fellowships
The Skandalaris Center has two fellowship programs.
The Kauffman Pathway in Life Sciences Entrepreneurship program offers formal training in business skills and entrepreneurship to outstanding young scientists. This program, a collaborative effort of the Skandalaris Center, the Olin Business School, the School of Medicine, the School of Law and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, gives PhD and MD students in the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences a unique opportunity to learn how scientific discoveries are translated into successful commercial ventures.
The Innovation Acceleration Partnership Fellowships trains post-doctoral fellows with a deep understanding of science to be life science entrepreneurs and then work with Washington University researchers to explore options for commercialization. At the conclusion of a four-month training and orientation cycle, the fellows have the opportunity to recruit researchers, select a promising technology, and start a new venture. The program, funded though a National Science Foundation grant, is supported by the Skandalaris Center, the Office of Technology Management, the BioGenerator venture fund and a large pool of community members.
Business Plan Competitions
The Skandalaris Center sponsors two business plan competitions:
- the Olin Cup, which awards $70,000 in seed funding to winning teams with commercial ventures
- the YouthBridge Social Enterprise and Innovation Competition (YSEIC), which awards $150,000 in grants to winning teams with social ventures.
Both competitions are open to the community and to students, and both competitions include a $5,000 student cash prize. Competition deliverables include an executive summary, elevator pitch, business plan, and final oral presentation. Washington University’s partner in the social venture competition is the YouthBridge Community Foundation, which in August, 2009, renewed their commitment by increasing the amount and duration of their support. The Center also sponsors The Skandalaris Seminar Series, a noncredit Friday afternoon workshop series including a skills building presentation and expert panel of entrepreneurs. The Skandalaris Seminar Series is open to everyone and assists competition participants and others by improving their overall skills and perspectives.
Research
The Skandalaris Center supports research in entrepreneurship in several ways. From 2004–2008 more than $500,000 in Kauffman faculty research grants were awarded to faculty in the disciplines of engineering, business, art, medicine, law and social work. Since March 2007, the Skandalaris Center has worked with the Missouri Botanical Garden to support faculty and student trips to Madagascar to study Community Development & Environmental Preservation through Entrepreneurial Collaboration. In November 2009, Skandalaris Awards honoring outstanding achievement in design and the visual arts were presented during the "Economies: Art + Architecture" conference hosted by the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. The Skandalaris Center is also currently participating in external research related to entrepreneurship conducted by William J. Baumol at New York University and William Lucas of MIT, who is engaged in the assessment of the Kauffman Campus Initiative.