The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has recognized the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University as one of the top 25 schools of its type worldwide for its commitment to positive and constructive change in business education.
An annual initiative with different themes each year, the challenge— Innovations That Inspire—honored institutions in 2020 for efforts to emphasize the education of and elevation of entrepreneurial thinking and new business creation.
Citing the Weatherhead School’s undergraduate seminar “Forming Global Cohorts to Support Reconstruction”—organized and taught by faculty member Michael Goldberg, the AACSB named the school a “Catalyst for Innovation.”
The course stems from one of the most successful massive open online courses (MOOC) of the 2010’s—known as Beyond Silicon Valley—created by Goldberg, an assistant professor of design and innovation and executive director of the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship.
By virtually bringing cohorts of students from developing countries together with university students, the semester-long seminar seeks to support entrepreneurial efforts after large-scale crises, such as civil wars and political upheavals.
In 2018, Goldberg recruited a cohort of more than 40 Syrian entrepreneurs to take the course alongside Case Western Reserve students. In 2019, students from Venezuela joined the seminar.
“We are so proud of the creativity and unity that sparks in our classes when students come together—from different parts of the globe, and bring a diversity of talents and experiences—toward a common goal,” Goldberg said. “If, in a small way, we can help startups start thriving after a crisis, this becomes a sign of hope and source of optimism for places and people trying to rebuild.”
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Beyond Silicon Valley MOOC has been relaunched to address how startups can survive this crisis by drawing on resources from governments, universities, foundations and nonprofit organizations.
In fact, Beyond Silicon Valley was honored in the first Entrepreneurship Spotlight Challenge (ESC) of AACSB International in 2017.
Now in its fifth year, the Innovations That Inspire challenge has highlighted more than 120 business school efforts that exemplify forward-looking approaches to education, research, community engagement or outreach, and leadership.