Experiential Entrepreneurship
Learn to think and create like an entrepreneur
One-of-a-kind programming designed to help you to develop and apply the innovative thinking and teamwork of a self-starter to any field, in any situation.
What is Experiential Entrepreneurship?
Experiential Entrepreneurship is about more than starting a business—it’s a creative, collaborative way of thinking that enables you to tackle problems across industries and sectors.
As an undergraduate student, no matter what your major, you’ll explore the techniques that San Francisco Bay Area startups use to innovate, adapt, and succeed. You’ll learn how to think differently, ask insightful questions, capitalize on opportunities, and develop solutions in contexts ranging from the sciences and business to philanthropy and government.
Program themes
Our Experiential Entrepreneurship programming focuses on three key themes that are critical to addressing today’s challenges. Through coursework, experiential learning projects, events, and activities, you’ll explore issues related to:
Technology, creativity, and ethics
Sustainability
Health and well-being
These themes will enrich your Experiential Entrepreneurship education and provide foundational knowledge that you’ll put into practice as you work on issues impacting Oakland, the Bay Area, and beyond.
Coursework
Northeastern’s Oakland-based Experiential Entrepreneurship course will teach you how to think and problem solve like an entrepreneur. Using an inductive learning model, you’ll learn by doing, observing, measuring, reflecting, creating, and collaborating with your peers.
Course highlights include:
- Utilizing case studies, site visits, and projects with Bay Area organizations, you’ll gain practical experience in the classroom and the field.
- Working in small groups of three to four, you’ll identify and select an Oakland/Bay Area issue to address.
- Applying market research techniques, including interviews with key constituents, your team will design a fundable project plan.
At the end of the course, you’ll present your plan to a panel of stakeholders and investors for their professional insights and guidance for future development.
Experiential programs and events
- Trek Days: Connect with Bay Area employer partners and public sector leaders through daylong site visits and interactive on-campus panel discussions focused on problem-scoping and ideation.
- Speaker Series: Diverse industry leaders visit campus to address Experiential Entrepreneurship themes, share their professional perspective, and engage with students.
- Start Summit Oakland: Participate in a Global Entrepreneurship Week hackathon working on solutions that benefit the Oakland community.
Student-led organizations
- Mosaic: A universitywide coalition of student-led organizations that empowers entrepreneurial builders and provides resources to Northeastern students.
- Entrepreneurs Club: An organization supporting student innovators, leaders, and founders to build entrepreneurial skills and connections through workshops, speaker series, and the Husky Start-Up Challenge.
Local partners, global reach
Our Bay Area partners are key to your Experiential Entrepreneurship learning, providing mentoring and insights into real-world successes (and failures). These industry experts work with you to transform theoretical knowledge into problem-solving skills that you can apply in any field at organizations around the world. Our partners include: