The Santa Clara University is located just in the core of Silicon Valley. The 8,000-student, Catholic, Jesuit University has a 155-year tradition of educating the whole person for a life of service and leadership. 

This diverse community of scholars, characterized by small classes and a values-oriented curriculum, is dedicated to educating students for competence, conscience, and compassion. Kevin Holmes, Director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, knows that SCU is in the best position to become the #1 University of the World for Hi-Tech Entrepreneurs.

<<We think that because our location and because our focus in Hi-Tech Entrepreneurship, we can be a leading University in Entrepreneurship Education>>, says Holmes.

The key differences of SCU.

<<One of our differences is the size. If you compare us to Stanford, Berkeley or San Jose State, we are a smaller University. In larger Universities you can find classes with 500 students and Faculty Members do not even teach the courses, you have teacher assistants. In SCU we have an average of 15 students in a class, and the teachers are the actual Faculty Members>>, says Holmes.

<<At the same time we have high standards. We have the #13 Part-Time MBA Program in the US and a Top 25 Undergraduate Business Program>>.

<<We have what is called the Teaching Scholar model. The focus of our Faculty Members is not to publish, as in other Universities. Here is very much about access to the Faculty Member as student having the Faculty members teaching all the class sections>>.

<<Another thing is our Jesuit heritage, which is humanistic and focused in distinct values as competence, conscience and compassion. We educate students here for a life of service and leadership, not just leadership. You are going to get an education in SCU that develops you as a person of solidarity with your community. An entrepreneur who is going to make an impact on society, who is going to make the world a better place. So the emphasis here is Technology Entrepreneurship for the benefit of Humanity>>.

<<The third thing is our location. Santa Clara County is Silicon Valley, and we are in the heart of Santa Clara. So, a mile or two-mile radius, you have got the headquarters of the largest tech corporations of the world: Cisco, Sun, Yahoo!, Google, Apple, HP, Intel and so on. They are all here. So, there is opposed to Berkeley, which is up in the East Bay, or Stanford which is on the Peninsula>>.

The importance of Entrepreneurship Education.

<<It is important to have a solid understanding of the entrepreneurial process, going from 0 to 50 million; going from the idea to the exit; what are the key areas of expertise to be able to navigate the waters. Because there are 1 out of 10 startups that is a big success, a couple more that are modest, and the majority fail. And the reality is that you can learn from the experience of others and you can avoid a lot of costly mistakes by recognizing your own limitations and recognizing that there is a lot to learn. The entrepreneurial spirit is great and it is going to drive you to become successful, but you need to have a solid foundation first, otherwise you are really maximizing risk. And that is the Education piece of it, and the Network piece of it>>.

Focused on Educate Hi-Tech Entrepreneurs, great Support Network.

<<Our interest in the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is in educating students>>.

<<We are focused in hi-tech entrepreneurship. That can mean Clean Tech, Life Sciences, Software, Hardware, IT, any segment within high technology entrepreneurship. It is really about the process of taking new technologies and bringing them to market globally>>.

<<We also work with our Alumni Network. It is what we call the Santa Clara Family, over 80,000 living alumni, 50,000 live here in Silicon Valley. So it is a really strong network, it is really close geographically and it is very active>>.

<<So we do keep in touch, but our focus is how we do create the best curriculum. Bringing the best Faculty. Bringing the most experienced entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. How we create the best program possible to give you a comprehensive education as a startup manager to go from 0 to 50 million. That is really where our focus is on>>.

Bronco Ventures Fund.

<<We launched this Venture Capital Fund in December and we already have made two investments. The hope is that the returns of the Fund will strength Entrepreneurship Education in Santa Clara and will create relationships with CEO’s of venture-backed startups companies in which, for example, our alumni can make internships>>.

Objective: be the best.

<<We are sort of new to the game in a sense as a formal Program. At the same time, we have curriculum in our Schools of Engineering and Business, so we have been doing a lot of Entrepreneurship Education. But in sense of having a formal Program we are relatively new>>.

<<We think that because our location and because our focus in Hi-Tech Entrepreneurship, we can be a leading University in Entrepreneurship Education. And it will take shape as a Major modeled after Babson’s Major; it will take shape as a Master Program, which is currently a Certificate in Technology Entrepreneurship; it will take shape as a 100k business plan competition. So, part of the campaign now is sort of bringing the resources in place to realize the opportunity that SCU has in this field>>.

Future challenges

<<In the next 3 to 5 years, our main challenges are basically putting a stake in the ground and say “here is an opportunity” for the University, for the Santa Clara Community, but also for the International Community, people from all over the world that want to come to Silicon Valley, have the network, have the education, have the experience and want to launch a company. There is this full opportunity there. We have the chance to be the best of the world or at least to be in the top field>>.

International Windows

<<Our main interest is connecting internationally with Innovation Clusters around the world. Places like Israel, Singapore, New Zealand… all these places that are trying to create an innovation ecosystem like Silicon Valley>>.

<<More specifically, we have the International Full Bright Program, a certificate in Technology Entrepreneurship. We are interested in connect with technical students who have some sort of IT intellectual property, or they have an idea that they would like to commercialize. That program is designed specifically for them. It brings them here for an academic year and during this time we help them in preparing their business plan, in having a demo or a proof of concept that they can share with the investors, and in building a network to find investors, advisement board, etc>>.

<<Living here for nine months, they really get a merge in the culture, which is very unique. In Silicon Valley they find this self-drive and ambition, all these smart people who come from all over the world that want to build the next big idea and change the world>>.

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