The MBA is often thought of as an educational investment undertaken to boost one’s career. Worldwide, however, there has been an increase in MBA acquisition by venture managers, or by people who intend to start their own companies in the future. This idea is based on the large number of MBA holders who are already employed in the financial sector (securities, banks, insurance); at the same time, MBA holders are being employed as future top company level management in IT companies and other high-tech start-ups, where MBA is used as a lever for improving management skills. In fact, at AACSB international accreditation conferences and AMBA global conferences that I have recently attended, a common theme has been how to promote entrepreneurial education at business schools.

AACSB has an awards session where the top 20 start-up support centers and entrepreneur support programs are honored. At the AMBA, the case of the entrepreneur center at the ESADE Business School was introduced. This was a concrete report with details on how to improve the “Learn” and “Do” balance. I was able to clearly sense this worldwide trend in business school innovation.

Business schools around the world, being sensitive to this change in awareness among their participants, are launching entrepreneur centers and incubation centers to support current students and alumni in new business start-ups. The role of such start-up support centers is to maximally utilize their business school networks, so as to support MBA-holder start-ups; the schools and their MBA programs have played the role of “incubators.” Such start-up support comes in many forms and varieties, from shared-office provisions to mentoring by business school professors, the planning of business competitions, and much more. The most important period for support is the one- or two-year period of the MBA where participants shift from the “Learn” phase to the “Do” phase.

• Entrepreneurship, Commercialization and Innovation Center
• The Entrepreneurship Alliance
• Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurship Avenue
• The Global Entrepreneurship Program
• Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
• Entrepreneurship Institute
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation