High school students exiting grades 9-12 can boost their technical and interpersonal skills, learn from local entrepreneurs and engage with business experts during Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s new Summer Entrepreneurship Academy (SEA).
The SEA will take place from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, June 18-22. Registration is available at siue.edu/summer/camps/summer-entrepreneurship-academy.
“There is a lot of excitement for the Summer Entrepreneurship Academy,” said Katie Robberson, instructor in the School of Business’s Department of Management and Marketing. “The camp’s main goal is to help students see how to put their entrepreneurial spirit into practice. All it takes to be successful in this camp is a desire to learn.”
SEA participants will be placed in teams and challenged to find an innovative idea to build a business plan and pitch. The week-long experience will end with a pitch competition to a panel of local business owners and entrepreneurship experts.
“For high school students with a drive to forge their own path this will be an incredibly valuable experience,” Robberson said. “We will be collaborating with the Small Business Development Center at SIUE, so students will see how real small businesses in our area get help from experts to start and grow their business.”
Two field trips will be highlights during the SEA, including a visit to Code 3 Spices, based in Collinsville, where students will see the production side of entrepreneurship. Participants will also travel to T-Rex, an innovative business incubator in St. Louis, where creativity and business strategizing abound.
For more information, contact Robberson at krobber@siue.edu.
Photo: SIUE’s Katie Robberson will lead the new Summer Entrepreneurship Academy.