{"393031":{"#nid":"393031","#data":{"type":"news","title":"CREATE-X will build students\u2019 entrepreneurial confidence","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech offers students plenty of chances to design their own inventions and build their own startups. But a unifying thread was missing -- something to link the entrepreneurial lessons in these experiences.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENow, a major gift from alumnus Chris Klaus is giving Tech a new way to do just that. On April 1, the Institute and the College of Engineering will formally launch CREATE-X, a collective of programs designed to boost students\u0027 entrepreneurial confidence and give them the tools they need to establish startups.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany of the programs under the CREATE-X umbrella, such as the Startup Lab course, have already begun to be offered. But CREATE-X will unite them with a common goal: equipping undergraduate students with the knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences to be entrepreneurially confident.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022These programs have always been part of a larger vision,\u0022 says Professor Raghupathy Sivakumar, the Wayne J. Holman Chair in Electrical Engineering. He is the director of CREATE-X and one of the architects behind it. Professor Emeritus Ray Vito, a longtime champion of Georgia Tech\u2019s student innovation ecosystem, is another architect behind the effort and serves as a special advisor for CREATE-X.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOpen to all undergraduates across campus, CREATE-X is based on three simple principles: Learn, Make, Launch. The idea is that students who participate in CREATE-X will choose from an assortment of programs that correspond with each of these principles. The signature offerings of CREATE-X that correspond to each of the three principles will be, respectively, the Startup Lab course, the Idea to Prototype Undergraduate Research Experience, and the Startup Summer program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEventually, students will advance through all three concepts, and they\u2019ll graduate Georgia Tech equipped with the entrepreneurial skills to succeed in both startup settings and larger, well-established companies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne of CREATE-X\u2019s defining features is Startup Summer, part of the program\u2019s Launch portion. This summer, 20 teams are expected to participate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKlaus, the namesake of the Institute\u2019s Klaus Advanced Computing Building, has discussed his own experiences in entrepreneurship with students in the Startup Lab course. He is the founder of Kaneva, a social gaming company, and he sees Startup Summer as a transformational opportunity for Georgia Tech students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy keeping students in school while they build their businesses, Klaus says, CREATE-X will occupy a unique position among startup accelerators. And, of course, students will get the business acumen and real-world experience they need to succeed with their companies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCREATE-X will be a revolutionary program for Georgia Tech, and I\u0027m thrilled to help the Institute\u0027s efforts in getting students excited about innovation and entrepreneurship,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther elements that will distinguish CREATE-X from similar programs at peer institutions will be its singular focus on undergraduate students, emphasis on the Learn, Make, Launch pathway that will cater to students throughout their undergraduate careers, and a strong reliance on the cross-disciplinary maker mindset that defines Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother part of what makes the program unique, though, is that participation requirements are somewhat flexible: No one will have to complete a strict regimen of courses to be involved.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s because organizers want to make it easy as possible for students to dive in to CREATE-X. All majors are invited to participate, but the program itself will be housed in the College of Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve built a reputation for innovation, and I\u2019m excited to see how CREATE-X builds on that by focusing on entrepreneurial skills,\u201d says Gary May, the College of Engineering dean.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMay is a member of the program\u2019s executive team. That team also includes Professor Ravi Bellamkonda, the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering chair; Professor Steve McLaughlin, the Steve Chaddick School Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Professor Bill Wepfer, the Eugene C. Gwaltney, Jr. School Chair of the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe \u2018X\u2019 in CREATE-X is based on the notion that our students can create anything they want through their ideas \u2013 be it their own jobs, exciting startups, a new world, or their very future,\u201d says Bellamkonda.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEventually, organizers foresee the program reaching thousands of students across Georgia Tech. Other campus programs that CREATE-X will coordinate with in achieving its vision include VentureLab, the InVenture Prize competition, Startup Exchange, and Georgia Tech\u2019s co-op program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMany of these opportunities focus on interdisciplinary work, a hallmark of Georgia Tech\u2019s curriculum,\u201d says McLaughlin.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith Klaus\u2019 gift to CREATE-X, more students will be able to polish their skills and prepare for the business world \u2013 whether they want to join a large company or make a startup from scratch.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are finally,\u201d says Sivakumar, \u201cgoing to provide a platform for entrepreneurial students.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E-- Written by\u0026nbsp;Lyndsey Lewis\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Major gift from Chris Klaus will support transformational program"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOpen to all undergraduates across campus, CREATE-X is based on three simple principles: Learn, Make, Launch.\u0026nbsp; The signature offerings of CREATE-X that correspond to each of the three principles will be, respectively, the Startup Lab course, the Idea to Prototype Undergraduate Research Experience, and the Startup Summer program.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"CREATE-X is a collective of programs designed to boost students\u0027 entrepreneurial confidence and give them the tools they need to establish startups."}],"uid":"27918","created_gmt":"2015-04-01 17:44:26","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:58","author":"Laura Diamond","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-04-01T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-04-01T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/create.gatech.edu\/","title":"Create at Tech"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"2579","name":"commercialization"},{"id":"815","name":"economic development"},{"id":"166994","name":"startups"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"},{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.diamond@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}