Workforce Development
Entrepreneurship is more than starting businesses; it is about seeing the world through the lens of opportunities and striving to create value. Here at the NDSU Center for Entrepreneurship, our mission is to teach entrepreneurial thinking and promote a growth mindset to enable individuals to solve problems and expand opportunities for our region. Our goal is to develop a workforce that thinks creatively and embraces the challenges of the future with an entrepreneurial mindset and grit.
We believe that infusing our current and future regional workforce with creative thinking and problem-solving skills is key to strengthening our local community and exponentially expand our economic growth and reach.
Ready to get Started?
Here are a few ways the Center for Entrepreneurship and Family Business is working to reach this goal:
Project Based Internships
Interested in hiring an intern? We have two options for businesses to support entrepreneurship students and benefit from their amazing excitement and insight.
A Traditional semester-long (4 credit) option
A Project-based (1-4 credits at a time) opportunity
Both can be paid or unpaid and require prior approval from our Entrepreneurship Internship Coordinator.
“Interns are more than short-term labor. They are creative ideas, a new perspective, a network partner, potential community advocates, future employees, and/or future customers.”
Key Things to Know
Projects that qualify
- Add Value to Your Business
- Discover / Solve Problems
- Identify Opportunities
Students are Required to Provide these Deliverables
- Final report or presentation
- Hours verified (traditional only)
- Check-in w/NDSU intern advisor
- Feedback from student to Company and Intern Coordinator
- Feedback from supervisor to Student and Intern Coordinator
- Updated resume / LinkedIn profile
How to Find INterns
Contact our Entrepreneurship Internship Coordinator
Develop your internship proposal. Include:
- What is the goal for the project?
- What specific tasks do you need help with?
- When do you need this project completed by?
- How long will a student be working on this?
- Is this a paid or unpaid opportunity?
- Is this a remote position or in-person?
- What deliverables are you requesting from the student?
- How are you going to provide guidance and feedback, throughout the
project and at the end? - How will the student benefit from this experience?
Submit a proposal to Intern Coordinator:
- Our Intern Coordinator will review the proposal and work with you to make any
necessary changes to meet our internship criteria. - Once the project is approved, provide your preferred contact information &
Company logo. - Submit a brief – “You are going to learn…” We will use this to help students find
internships that match their objectives. - Your Logo will go on CEFB website with a link out to your website or social
media page (your choice). - Students will contact you directly for information about your approved internship
project.
Contact Information
ndsu.entre@ndsu.edu
Dual Credit – Intro to Entrepreneurship
High school students can now explore the world of entrepreneurship and get credit for high school and college. NDSU’s Office of Teaching and Learning is providing students the opportunity to sign up for our Intro to Entrepreneurship course in the Spring or Fall. This is an online, asynchronous option that will fit any schedule.
Our Introduction to Entrepreneurship 201 is intentionally designed to be unlike any other course learners have experienced so far. Once you begin, you are immersed in a world of opportunities. You are challenged to discover your own best style as you navigate through a unique learning and evaluation system to realize success. Each week presents a new challenge. Your task is to work through the various levels of discovery and learning opportunities earning ribbons and tokens along the way.
Like true entrepreneurs, students identify and maximize opportunities by applying critical thinking, effective collaboration, and ethical behaviors to chart your own path in an unfamiliar environment. They set clear goals for themself and strive to meet them. This is their journey of learning and experimentation. They have an instructor available to help meet their goal, but ultimate success belongs to learner!
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Some schools may pay all or a portion of dual credit tuition. Be sure to speak with a
guidance counselor.
Students who take this course are eligible to apply for a $1,000 President Jim Ozbun
Scholarship for incoming freshman.
North Dakota high school or home school students may be eligible to apply for financial
assistance through the Bank of North Dakota (BND). This assistance is not a loan so you
will not be asked to repay funds.
Ready to Apply?
Students should follow these steps for the dual-credit application process at NDSU.
1. Go to the NDSU admission application page for Dual-Credit students.
https://tinyurl.com/ycj6zhdk
2. Click “Sign Up” or sign in if you already have an account.
3. Complete the FREE application for admission. —Be sure to select Dual Credit as your admit
type.
4. After you complete the course registration form with your high school dual-credit coordinator,
you will receive verification of your acceptance and enrollment in the class. Questions? For
questions regarding the application process, contact the Office of Admission at 1-800-488-
NDSU or ndsu.admission@ndsu.edu. For all other dual-credit questions, contact the Office
of Teaching and Learning at 1-800-726-1724, or at ndsu.otl@ndsu.edu.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION TIPS
Questions about the Course – contact our instructor
NDSU Center for Entrepreneurship
Cheryl Duvall, Program Manager
Cheryl.duvall@ndsu.edu
701-231-1866
Questions about the registration process – contact the NDSU Office of Teaching and Learning
Office of Teaching and Learning
Stacy Duffield, Director
Stacy.duffield@ndsu.edu
701-231-7102
Marketplace for Kids
Developed in 1995, Marketplace for Kids is a non-profit program geared towards 3rd to 8th graders. Since that time, they have offered a way for K-12 educators to learn and teach about innovation, problem-solving & creativity, and to provide students an open forum to showcase their innovative ideas. They had true entrepreneurial foresight…engaging kids in what is now known as project-based learning.
Students can develop new business ideas and projects in their classrooms and display them at one of the many Education Days hosted throughout ND all year long. When we read these organizational goals of Marketplace for Kids…we had to help!
- To promote and cultivate youth entrepreneurship and innovation.
- To provide entrepreneurship education and career exploration to youth with support and mentoring from business and community leaders.
- To raise awareness of self-employment as a viable career option.
- To assist youth in developing attributes and skills associated with entrepreneurs, including creativity, innovation, self-confidence, planning, and risk-taking.
- To motivate youth to pursue further study, exploration, and consideration of
entrepreneurship.
You’ll find us providing Entrepreneurship Workshops at Education Days across ND! Check out how ND students ideate a new marketable product out of an old t-shirt with a pair of cheap scissors, 3 feet of string, and 15 minutes. The ideas are endless, enthusiasm contagious, and learning priceless! If you have access to 70 old kid-sized t-shirts to contribute one of these workshops. Reach out to let us know.
If you want to do a Marketplace project with your students or attend an Education day in your Region…please contact the Marketplace team or visit www.marketplaceforkids.
Educators, not sure how to involve your students, we can get you started with Marketplace for Kids training that counts as Professional Development Credit.