View Current Academy News
- IdeaBounce into Student Entrepreneurship
The inaugural Illinois IdeaBounce Competition, held on March 5, 2007, kicked off National Entrepreneurship Week on the University of Illinois campus. The Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership in partnership with the Daily Illini received fifty-four unique entrepreneurial idea submissions from UIUC students.
>> Full article - Fifteen Faculty Win Entrepreneurial Honors
The Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership is proud to announce the 2007-2008 recipients of the Faculty Fellows awards. The fifteen newly elected fellows will spend the upcoming academic year teaching courses involving entrepreneurship across both the University of Illinois and Parkland campuses.
>> Full article
>> View information on each Faculty Fellow - The Founder of Kinkos Speaks at Illinois
Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinkos, told his story of entrepreneurial success to students and community members in a packed Spurlock Auditorium on November 8, 2006, as part of the "Spotlight on the Entrepreneur" lecture series. Orfalea's story is unique because he overcame dyslexia and hyperactivity to grow Kinkos from a small private shop in California, to a multi-billion dollar business.
>> Full article - Entrepreneurial Artists Make a Splash at Illinois
The Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership proudly sponsored an afternoon of artists and entrepreneurship on September 9, 2006 in the new Alice Campbell Alumni Center. Renowned artists from the Champaign-Urbana community sat on an interactive panel to discuss their start-up stories and how entrepreneurship has shaped their careers.
>> Full article -
Healthcare Startups in Tech Boom
The University of Illinois Foundation in partnership with the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership, was proud to welcome James Bradley to campus and invited him to share his story of entrepreneurial success in the healthcare industry. Mr. Bradley discussed his start in corporate America and his dream to put the knowledge he had acquired to use with a business of his own.
>> Full article - Academy Launches Programs with History of Entrepreneurism and Labor Characteristics
Fittingly, David B. Audretsch delivered a review of the history of entrepreneurship in his lecture in early December, the first of the newly established Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership. According to Audretsch, the role of entrepreneurship and small business has evolved considerably since the Second World War and is considered today to be a strategic competitive investment in global markets.
>> Full article - Illinois Faculty Explain Their Entrepreneurial Drive
Marked signs of a strong entrepreneurial zeal at the U of I and surrounding Champaign-Urbana area emanated from the first panel discussion hosted by the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership. The December session united four successful faculty members who have managed to cohesively merge their entrepreneurial drives with their passions for teaching.
>> Full article