Give

To keep pace with growing demand for Duke I&E courses for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students, gifts to the I&E Certificate Fund provide resources to establish, enhance, and grow these curricular offerings.

The Undergraduate I&E Certificate is the second most popular certificate program at Duke. A rigorous interdisciplinary study of innovation and entrepreneurship, the certificate complements any major, coupling in-depth theoretical coursework with hands-on practice. Industry experts and seasoned entrepreneurs are engaged to enrich classroom programming. With over 300 students representing 30 majors from across the university, the certificate enhances students’ ability to explore the complex problems facing our world—and develop innovative solutions.

The Graduate and Professional I&E Certificate brings students from across the university to work in multi-disciplinary teams to identify problems worth solving, moving student and faculty innovations from idea to impact, and bringing fresh solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. These offerings complement graduate and professional students’ areas of study and support a wide range of career goals.

Gifts to the Student Founders Fund allows the Director of Duke I&E to strategically invest in the university-wide Student Founder Program, an integrated family of founder programming dedicated to enabling students to deliver extraordinary impact through the pursuit of startup ventures.

The Founders Program brings together people interested in learning to create value through new ventures and interventions. Co-curricular opportunities such as a suite of weekly and monthly entrepreneurial coaching sessions and skill-building workshops enrich the student entrepreneurial ecosystem, enhance the student experience, and serve as the heartbeat of student I&E activity at the university. These activities are designed to complement Duke I&E’s curricular offerings to give students the most comprehensive education in innovation and entrepreneurship.

Student teams from a variety of I&E programs at Duke who are actively working on projects may apply to remain in Durham for the summer and participate in the Duke I&E Summer Accelerator. Selected teams receive stipends to support living expenses, access to co-working space, mentorship and community-building activities, and the opportunity for a “kicker” investment at the end of the summer based on progress.

As we expand the Initiative’s programming and partner with outside entities, this general, unrestricted, support is invaluable. A gift to the Director’s Opportunity Fund will give Duke I&E the horsepower to drive our work, the agility to take advantage of exciting opportunities as they arise, and the resources to fill gaps in our current programming to maintain Duke’s world-class leadership in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.

A number of named giving opportunities exist that provide perpetual support for key roles and programs well into the future at Duke University.

-Director of the Duke Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative

-Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Certificate

-Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative