This week’s Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers promises to be as big as its name, with a record 425 attendees expected.
Attended by entrepreneurship experts from more than 220 universities, including Cornell, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Stanford, and UCLA, as well as representatives from Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the conference runs from Thursday, September 29, to Saturday, October 1, at the University of Rochester and Rochester Institute of Technology.
Duncan Moore
Administered by the premier academic organization for the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship, the conference allows universities to network, benchmark, and explore how best to promote entrepreneurship education and new venture creation.
Rochester is recognized worldwide as a technology hub, one that’s noted nationally for patents per capita and robust entrepreneurial environment.
“Our theme, ‘Turning Over a New Leaf,’ symbolizes the dynamic and evolving nature of our chosen field of entrepreneurship,” says Duncan Moore, vice provost of entrepreneurship at the University. “The conference is about gleaning best practices, making impactful connections, and embracing change to propel not only our centers forward but our communities and regions as well. One of the areas of focus will be how centers drive economic development.”
The conference hosts are the University’s Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and RIT’s Albert J. Simone for Student Innovation. The premier sponsor is the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
The conference features more than 200 panelists at 50 plenary sessions, workshops, breakout discussions, and keynote speeches. Events on Thursday will be held in downtown Rochester at the Hyatt Regency and at the Eastman School of Music’s Eastman Theatre. All Friday events take place at the University, with President and CEO Joel Seligman welcoming guests at 10:30 a.m. in Strong Auditorium, followed by a keynote address and interactive discussion from Victor Hwang, vice president of entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation.
All Saturday events on take place at RIT.
The previous record for attendees was 340 at the conference hosted by Rice University in 2009.
The complete schedule is available at the conference’s website.