CEL Celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week

By Cathy Wilde

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Aspiring entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to network, listen and learn as the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) in the University at Buffalo School of Management celebrates Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 12-18.

“As one of Western New York’s leading providers of entrepreneurial guidance, we are looking forward to this chance to sync with entrepreneurs all over the world in providing practical, valuable insights and advice to UB students and the public,” says Thomas Ulbrich, CEL executive director.

The week’s events will be held on UB’s North Campus and include:

• Speed Networking (noon-2 p.m., Nov. 12, Student Union) – Participants can meet local entrepreneurs and build professional contacts
• Entrepreneurs Unplugged (6-8 p.m., Nov. 12, Clemens Hall) – A roundtable discussion on what it’s like to run a business featuring CEL graduates Robert Anstey, CEO, Graphene Devices; Joel Colombo, president and managing partner, 360 PSG; Laurie Irish-Jones, CEO, Irish Cos.; and J.P. Midgely, CEO, Avalon Document Services
• Art and Entrepreneurship (6-8 p.m., Nov. 13, Center for the Arts) – A showcase of artistic responses to entrepreneurship
• The Innovation Challenge (4-6 p.m., Nov. 14, Student Union) – Creative problem-solving exercises and competition

In addition, the CEL and UB Student Affairs are co-sponsoring a visit by noted entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie on Nov. 15 as part of the UB Distinguished Speaker Series. Mycoskie is founder of TOMS Shoes and author of the 2012 UB Reads selection, “Start Something that Matters.”

The CEL also is participating in Buffalo Startup Weekend at Medaille College, Nov. 16-18, a forum for aspiring entrepreneurs to come together to share ideas and receive feedback from local entrepreneurs, including a number of CEL graduates.

Registration is required for all events. For more information, contact Alex Cleary at 716-885-5715, ext. 30, or mgt-cel@buffalo.edu.

Global Entrepreneurship Week is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare. The initiative kicked off in 2008, launched by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Carl Schramm, the president and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Since then, it has grown to 115 countries—with nearly 24,000 partner organizations planning more than 37,000 activities that directly engage more than 7 million people.

Established in 1987, the CEL provides participants with individualized and interactive education in entrepreneurship. More than 900 CEL alumni employ more than 22,000 Western New Yorkers, and their businesses are worth more than $2 billion to the local economy. For more information, visit mgt.buffalo.edu/cel.

The UB School of Management is recognized for its emphasis on real-world learning, community and economic impact, and the global perspective of its faculty, students and alumni. The school has been ranked by Bloomberg Businessweek, the Financial Times, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal for the quality of its programs and the return on investment it provides its graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.