Students eager to get their ideas off of the napkin and out into the world are encouraged to apply for the Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship, which provides a fast-paced, experiential environment to develop skills as a founder alongside intensive mentoring and soft skills development. 

Overseen by the U of A Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the certificate joins graduate students from business and non-business disciplines on interdisciplinary teams together to provide an incubation-like setting for exploring real business ideas and for connecting new technologies to market opportunities. 

The certificate helps teams launch successful commercial or non-commercial ventures, create and market innovative products and processes, drive social impact, and become leaders and innovators within existing organizations. 

For Lexi Applequist, the program has helped her "lay the foundation to build a sustainable and impactful business." 

Applequist is a doctoral student in the College of Engineering working to design and commercialize organ-mimicking research platforms to reduce animal testing. 

"I am so grateful to have the funding and access to such an esteemed experiential-based business development program with top faculty," Applequist said. 

"Through OEI's New Venture Development course and customer discovery interviews thus far, I have learned a significant amount about the business side of the pharmaceutical industry and am excited to continue this industry research and company development with my team." 

OEI will host four information sessions this fall offering more details about the graduate certificate and the corresponding Hodges entrepreneurial fellowship. Registration is requested. 

Get Connected  

Session No. 1 - Oct. 7, 4-5 p.m. 

• Brewer Hub (123 W. Mountain St, Fayetteville, AR) 

•  Pizza  

Session No. 2 - Oct. 23, 12:45-1:45 p.m.