U of C’s Booth School and Polsky Center Team Up with C200 to Support Booth Entrepreneurs

In a joint effort to educate and develop the next generation of highly-successful business leaders, the University of Chicago’s  Booth School of Business and its Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation together with  C200 announced a new partnership focused on supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, social impact, and the advancement of women.

The partnership will span five years and consist of C200 Scholar Awards of $10,000 each along with networking and mentoring opportunities. Over the five years, a total of nine student entrepreneurs will be selected.  The winners will receive customized support from the Polsky Center and dedicated space to work on their startups full-time over the summer months. In addition, a larger group of Chicago Booth students and faculty will be invited to exclusive programming and networking events focused on entrepreneurship as part of the multi-year collaboration.

Entrepreneurship has surpassed finance as  the most popular concentration at Booth, which is home to the top university accelerator program in the nation—the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge program – which has helped launch companies like Grubhub, Braintree and Simple Mills. The New Venture Challenge is run by the Polsky Center, which provides a robust and thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem on campus, offering more than 60 programs and 450 events per year for students interested in entrepreneurship, private equity, venture capital and entrepreneurship through acquisition.

“We are thrilled to be a partner with C200. This collaboration is an excellent opportunity for our entrepreneurs to engage one-on-one with seasoned and successful businesswomen who can provide meaningful guidance and support,” said Ellen Rudnick, senior advisor on entrepreneurship and adjunct faculty member at Booth.

“The C200 Scholars Award that is provided as part of this partnership will greatly enhance our students’ ability to pursue their entrepreneurial endeavors,” Rudnick said.

C200 is an international membership organization comprised of the world’s top female C-Suite executives and entrepreneurs working to advance women in business. Its membership represents companies with more than $1.4 trillion in combined revenue, and employs more than 2.5 million people. This partnership is part of C200’s signature Reachout program that connects C200 members with university students across the world.

“We are excited to be working with Chicago Booth and the Polsky Center as a part of our mission is to support and advance aspiring female entrepreneurs,” said Donna F. Zarcone, C200 member and CEO of The Economic Club of Chicago. “This is our third time partnering with Chicago Booth, and our members continue to be impressed by their next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.”

The awards are open to any Booth student pursuing an MBA in the Full Time, Evening, Weekend or North American Executive MBA Program. As part of the application process, students must demonstrate their experience with, or commitment to, the advancement of women as well as a commitment to entrepreneurship and/or social impact through an internship, entrepreneurial venture, accelerator, or incubator program. The application deadline for the fellowships is Monday, April 2 at 12:00 p.m. and current Chicago Booth students must apply online to be considered. Recipients of the first three fellowships will be announced at an invite-only event in the spring.

 

This site uses cookies and other tracking technologies to assist with navigation and your ability to provide feedback, analyze your use of products and services, assist with our promotional and marketing efforts.

Accept