Program Overview  |  The Global Scholars Program

Fostering the creation of enterprises by entrepreneurs that are transformative and born global

In 2006, at the initiative of Gordon Brown, then UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation created the Global Scholars Program. The first overseas collaborator was the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship (NCGE) in the UK. The 2010 Program will be attended by students and observers from five countries, and will represent at least seven nationalities. The Program provides a world class opportunity for promising entrepreneurs, selected through competitive application processes, to develop their entrepreneurial skills and ideas, competences, and capabilities to start a business following completion of the Program. The Global Scholars Program provides a six month exposure to some of America's most innovative entrepreneurial professors, experts, universities, and companies.

The Program to date has hosted students and faculty from twenty-five universities in three countries, representing eight nationalities. Applicants to the Program are accepted through national fellowship competitions in collaboration with organizations abroad. The scholarship provided by the overseas sponsors will cover the costs of participation in the Program, lodging and travel expenses in the United States, and a small living stipend. Please see below for details.

Outstanding students or recent graduates from science (natural and physical), technology, and engineering fields who have innovative business ideas related to their academic backgrounds are invited to apply. Applicants with ideas that could translate into high growth and/or disruptive companies are particularly welcome. Applicants should have demonstrated excellence, leadership, and possess the qualities necessary to be a successful entrepreneur.

The Program has accommodated limited numbers of students from other academic backgrounds. Therefore, students from other academic backgrounds are welcome to apply and will be considered in light of the applicant pool. They should demonstrate an abiding interest in science and/or technology and, like other applicants, have ideas that could translate into high growth and/or disruptive companies.

The program provides an unparalleled opportunity for participants to examine, understand, and experience entrepreneurial culture in the United States. Through the Global Scholars Program, they will meet and engage with leading scholars and thinkers, policy leaders, innovative researchers, and business founders. Building on their strong backgrounds in science, technology, or engineering, they will have the opportunity to further develop their skills with a view to turning their expertise in the direction of entrepreneurship and the creation of innovative businesses. The Global Scholars group itself will create an important core network for participants, one that will carry them through the program and help to sustain them upon their return to their home country. Ultimately, they will return home prepared to complete university programs if appropriate, foster an entrepreneurial spirit in their universities and more broadly, and most importantly, develop their innovative enterprises.

During the Program participants will be encouraged to think systematically about entrepreneurship and the variables that may lead to the success of their venture. To facilitate and document the evolution of their thinking, participants will set personal learning and action goals that will reflect theoretical, practical, and creative understandings of science, technology, and entrepreneurship. At the close of the Program they will return home with a portfolio that describes and documents their development and serves as an invaluable reference as they move forward with their studies and enterprise development.

The Program features several phases. First, the Global Scholars spend five weeks at the Kauffman Foundation in Kansas City, immersed in an intensive course that explores a wide range of topics related to innovation, entrepreneurship, and business creation. Some of the nation's most outstanding faculty join the Foundation from Harvard Business School, NYU, MIT, and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, among others.

Once well-grounded in the literature and American entrepreneurial experience, the Kauffman Foundation and centers in technology and enterprise will host participants at universities in Boston and Silicon Valley. Participants will have the opportunity to observe, understand, and participate in what some might argue are different entrepreneurial cultures on the East and West coasts. They will receive exposure to high impact businesses that represent the most innovative work being done in the regions. A variety of workshops and site visits will further expose participants to the skills and knowledge they will need to pursue successfully their own endeavors.

During the next phase participants will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the day-to-day operations of an innovative firm. Working together, participants, the Foundation, and mentors will outline training goals specific to their academic discipline and innovation area of interest. The Kauffman Foundation has worked with small start-ups, as well as mid-size and large companies (both publicly and privately held) to create individually tailored placements with mentors from top levels of leadership including founders, CEOs, and Vice Presidents, as well as with leaders from various company divisions. During this approximately twelve week period participants will hone their scientific and entrepreneurial skills through this invaluable opportunity to learn about (and perhaps even help with) the challenges faced by innovative companies.

Following the internship the Global Scholars reconvene in Kansas City to share lessons learned and prepare for the return home. The Foundation supports an alumni network and regular contact between all of its alumni participants.

The Kauffman Foundation designed the Global Scholars Program and continues to coordinate and implement it. The Foundation has dedicated both a full time director and administrative staff member to the Program. The Program is directed by Dr. Wendy E.F. Torrance, who led the Program through its creation in 2006 and welcomed the first class of British Global Scholars in January 2007. The Foundation hosts the Global Scholars at its headquarters during the first phase of the Program. The Foundation recruits the nation's most outstanding faculty and accomplished entrepreneurs to present seminars, lead discussions, and lead individual and small group meetings in Kansas City, Boston, and Silicon Valley.

The Foundation works to ensure that the Scholars successfully navigate life in the United States, providing a complete orientation and coordinating their travel, housing and transportation, and opportunities for exposure to American culture and social events.

Finally, the Foundation has created opportunities for an alumni network so the Global Scholars may stay in touch with one another and with future classes of Scholars.

Participants are currently hosted in the United States by the Kauffman Foundation on a J-1 training visa sponsored by the American Immigration Law Foundation.