Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership | Illinois

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Scholarships for $1,000 are available to undergraduates interested in exploring a research question related to entrepreneurial people, communities, organizations (corporations, startups or social enterprises), or the entrepreneurial environment.

Application deadline is March 29^th, 2012.

The Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Entrepreneurship and Innovation initiative is sponsored by the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership (AEL), in the College of Business. Eight other colleges and institutes have partnered with us to provide this opportunity.

Students can work with a faculty member on an existing research project or a new one, or develop their own research question. Each student needs a faculty member to act as a research mentor to guide their efforts. The following are meant only as topic examples.

Project examples:

• Prepare a case study of an entrepreneurial organization at a decision point.
• Why do some women technologists pursue self-employment while others enter organizational employment?
• How do social enterprises keep income generation aligned with their social mission?
• The graduate students of some university research labs go on to pursue entrepreneurial activities more often than typical –is there something different about their research group environment that supports this?
• Collect oral histories of central Illinois small business owners.
• What role does networking and collaboration play for those who are successfully able to pursue arts-related self-employment and entrepreneurial activities?

 STEPS:

• Identify a topic of interest. 

• Recruit a professor who is willing to work with you as a research mentor.
• Mentors can be any faculty at the University of Illinois. For examples of faculty across the campus interested in entrepreneurship, check out the AEL Faculty Fellows, at http://business.illinois.edu/ael/faculty/facultyfellows.html.
• A description of this initiative to share with your research mentor can be downloaded here. 

• Write a 1-2 page description of the proposed project – the research question you will address, and your research method or design. Fill out the information sheet, which requires a signature from the research mentor.

• Submit the two documents by Thursday, March 29^th, 2012.
• Drop off a paper copy at 270 Wohlers Hall, or email a scanned copy to academy@business.illinois.edu

• AEL will announce the winners by April 12^th.

• Conduct your study over summer and in the fall 2012 semester
• A typical project will take 40-60 hours of actual work
• Timeline to be negotiated with your research mentor

• Prepare a written report of your results, and submit it to the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership and to your research mentor by Wednesday, Nov. 28^th, 2012; participants will also give a brief oral presentation of their results on Nov. 28^th.

• The $1,000 scholarships will be given on submission and approval of the completed project, with approval to be determined by AEL with input from the research mentor.

ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be full-time undergraduates on campus in the fall 2012 semester, with a major in one of the following colleges:

• Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
• Applied Health Sciences
• Business
• Education
• Engineering
• Media
• Social Work           
• Institute for Genomic Biology *

* Undergraduates of any college working in the Institute for Genomic Biology in spring or summer 2012 are also eligible.

Thank you to these partners for making possible the Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Entrepreneurship and Innovation initiative.

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