Seeking to broaden the experiences of their aspiring student entrepreneurs, Rider University announced an initiative that immediately ignited the passion of their students across its campus. The university announced that a select number of students will attend a special innovation program this summer at Saint Stephen’s House, a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford.
When the program was announced students across all majors in the College of Business Administration flooded the school with applications, prompting an essay competition to choose the lucky students. Other than paying for their own travel expenses, students attend the program for free.
“We could not be more excited about this program that came to us via our Dean of Continuing Studies, Boris Vilic,”said Associate Dean Ron Cook and the founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. “We are the beneficiary of his long standing connection to Oxford.”
The program entitled The Innovation Intensive at Oxford includes the participation of two highly accomplished business people associated with Rider. Norm Brodsky, Rider alum and successful entrepreneur and Barry Rabner, Penn Medicine Princeton Health’s CEO and President, will be participating as Executives in Residence. They will be joined by world-renowned guest speakers and faculty as part of the week long agenda that includes classes and lectures, analysis with industry executives, and entrepreneurial workshops.
“We see this as a great opportunity for Rider and its student body,” Cook explained. “It will advance these students’ entrepreneurial mindset by exposing them to highly accomplished people, as well as giving them a deeper understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship”.
The Oxford trip follows an inaugural Rider student trip to the Inc. 5000 annual gathering this past fall which Brodsky covered the expenses of six students to attend. Both trips support Rider’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies’ goal to provide their students with experiences that will influence their career decisions.
Dr. Cook has high expectations for the students attending the innovation program and what they will bring back to Rider in the fall.
“Rider, and specifically the Center, are very excited about the programs we have put in place these past few years to give our students the experience and tools to be entrepreneurs and to help them with their career decisions. Imagine being in a class with one of the top entrepreneurs in America, Norm Brodsky, having access to opportunities that will expose them globally to highly accomplished people, and being part of our expanding entrepreneurial program that draws top applicants from our Business Idea competition.”
