{"id":14887,"date":"2019-01-06T03:36:19","date_gmt":"2019-01-06T03:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=14887"},"modified":"2019-04-06T08:23:22","modified_gmt":"2019-04-06T08:23:22","slug":"gen-z-entrepreneurs-view-higher-education-as-vital-to-their-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/gen-z-entrepreneurs-view-higher-education-as-vital-to-their-startups\/","title":{"rendered":"Gen Z entrepreneurs view higher education as vital to their startups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric J. Barron<\/a>, Pennsylvania State University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s college students \u2013 dubbed Generation Z<\/a> \u2013 are beginning to make their mark on the workplace with a distinctly unconventional and often irreverent approach to problem-solving. In my day-to-day interactions with our students, I find that this group doesn\u2019t only ask \u201cWhy?\u201d they ask \u201cHow can I fix that?\u201d And their curiosity, independence, energy and assertiveness are transforming the entrepreneurial space.<\/p>\n

These post-millennials<\/a> are less like the bumbling geeks from the cast of the HBO comedy \u201cSilicon Valley\u201d and more in the spirit of a focused problem-solver like a young MacGyver, who would rather invent and innovate as a means to learning and discovery.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s energizing to a university president like me is watching this transformation take place as more and more undergraduates are partnering with public institutions and fueling the next wave of ingenuity.<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurship 101<\/h2>\n

A 2011 survey by Gallup<\/a> found 77 percent of students in grades 5 through 12 said they want to be their own boss and 45 percent planned to start their own business. Today, many of those students are now in college.<\/p>\n

For example, when I first met Hunter Swisher as an undergraduate plant pathology student at Penn State, he was busy turning scientific turfgrass research<\/a> that he learned about in class into a commercial product and startup company.<\/p>\n

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The turf of the White Course at Penn State is tended to by Phospholutions.<\/span>
\nPenn State<\/span>, Author provided<\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Swisher saw commercial potential in his professor\u2019s research and worked closely with him to transfer that knowledge into a possible viable product. Swisher connected with the university\u2019s startup incubator and vast alumni network, put in the work, and became a CEO of his own small business<\/a> before he walked across the stage at commencement in 2016. Today, his company<\/a> Phospholutions has five employees and counting and their treatment is being used on more than 50 golf courses in 10 states.<\/p>\n

Swisher is not alone in pursuing his entrepreneurial dreams while still in college. He is just one of many entrepreneurs starting their own companies by leveraging resources at their colleges and universities.<\/p>\n

Penn State, Indiana University<\/a>, University of North Carolina<\/a>, Georgia Tech<\/a>, University of Michigan<\/a>, Ohio State<\/a> and other leading public institutions all have thriving entrepreneurial centers that are available to all students, as well as community members and businesses. Penn State alone has opened 21 entrepreneurial spaces across Pennsylvania<\/a>, and in just two years, we\u2019ve engaged with more than 4,500 students.<\/p>\n

Moving scientific discoveries into a breakthrough business opportunity is powering economic growth and creating jobs. Consider that nationally \u2013 in 2017 alone \u2013 the Association of University Technology Managers<\/a> reported:<\/p>\n