Haas School, Intel Partner to Encourage Entrepreneurship

UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and computer giant Intel Corp. will partner to encourage entrepreneurship through an international training initiative, university officials announced Monday.

The entrepreneurship program, financially backed by Intel, will send two UC Berkeley faculty members from the university's Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to five international regions for an 18-month "training-the-trainer" program.

Approximately 15-20 selected faculty from regional schools in China, India, Brazil, Russia and Mexico will join the UC Berkeley professors for a three-day instructional session where they will be taught technology-related entrepreneurial know-how.

"We're delighted to hook up with Intel as a premier educator and entrepreneurship center," said David Charron, program director and associate director of the Lester Center.

Intel approached the center, which is touted as one of the leading entrepreneurial study hubs in the nation, in early 2005 with an invitation to participate in the program.

"We believe that growth in the emerging market can be significantly advanced through the development of new businesses," said Timothy Saponas, manager of the Worldwide Higher Education Program at Intel.

Though universities can effectively teach students how to start up companies, experience and real-world resources complete the package, Saponas said.

"It is important, though, that we support these entrepreneurs with the necessary basic skills to ensure they are successful in creating a startup company," he said.

Intel will select the participating institutes in the different countries while the center will be responsible for formulating the curriculum, Charron said.

The program will provide the participants with a framework and curriculum that they can apply to their own college institutions, as well as training plans for formulating strategies and writing business proposals.

"The faculty will be better versed in entrepreneurship and activities around the globe and that will reflect in the quality of teaching that students receive," Charron said.

"Technology Entrepreneurship: Theory to Practice" is part of Intel's Innovation in Education initiative, aimed at merging technology and education by sponsoring forums and programs for all levels of education.

"Intel's objective for our higher education program is to work with leading universities worldwide to support the advancement of curriculum and research in order to ensure a growing pipeline of talent to feed the high-tech industry," Saponas said.

Officials from Intel urged the need for programs of this kind ,which are on the rise as technology expands and globalization booms.

"Today, by and large, many educational systems are geared toward creating employees, not entrepreneurs," said Christian Morales, co-general manager of Intel Europe, in a statement.

Although an official start date has yet to be set, the program is expected to launch at year's end, with the first training program scheduled for August.

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