Lessons From Starting An Entrepreneurship Program

The W. P. Carey Program in Entrepreneurship & Management is housed in the Mathematical Sciences Department of the Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. It concentrates on preparing undergraduates to become founders and leaders of major enterprises later in their careers. The academic program provides basic business education courses in accounting, finance, ethics, and marketing, plus advanced courses in entrepreneurship, information technology management, intellectual property protection, organizational development, negotiation and conflict management, internet law, and internet marketing. Experiential learning opportunities include internships for credit, a business plan competition, a student-managed investment portfolio, a student business society, a Wall Street trip (including resume critiques and mock interviews), and an intersession course with alumni entrepreneur speakers. Currently in its sixth year, the program has had many successes and encountered substantial obstacles and setbacks. This article describes the difficulties of starting an entrepreneurship program in a mathematics department at a university which does not have a business school, and discusses lessons learned which may be helpful to others who are developing entrepreneurship programs.