Photo // Shashank MuraliSAFETY FIRST. Participants in the wall-breaking ceremony for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship donned hard hats and safety glasses and held IU-red sledgehammers.
By: Shashank MuraliStaff-Writer, Advertising Co-Manager
The IU South Bend Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, aimed at helping students turn business ideas into reality, was officially launched on Nov. 25. This new phase in the life of the university – to nurture entrepreneurship on campus – was inaugurated with the symbolic breaking of a wall.
Chancellor Susan Elrod opened the ceremony with a speech about the vision for the program, which she has championed since her first day in office.
“This initiative is about giving students the tools to succeed beyond the classroom,” Elrod said.
The non-credential credit granting program officially launched in Spring 2024 and has completed six successful sessions, helping students flesh out and hone their business concepts.
Kate Mullins, executive director of the Judd Leighton Foundation, also spoke at the event. She, too, expressed enthusiasm for the new partnership and optimism about the program’s potential. The Leighton Foundation helps entrepreneurs bring their ideas to market.
“Partnering with IU South Bend gives us the chance to help students turn their entrepreneurial ideas into successful businesses,” Mullins said.
Modupe Adeoye, CIE director, said the program is focused on providing practical, real-world entrepreneurial skills. Reflecting on her time as a business graduate at Notre Dame, Adeoye underscored that it is important for students to have the opportunity to begin building business ideas while at the university.
“Here, we connect, inspire, and engage,” Adeoye said. “We aim to provide all students equal opportunities to let them develop their ideas and assist them in every step toward realising the idea.”
The event culminated with the moment of breaking the wall, symbolically breaking barriers and opening new horizons to entrepreneurs and students.
The CIE will continue to offer enrollment for entrepreneurship workshops in the spring semester, with ongoing construction of a physical headquarters at the former Hammes Bookstore location on the first floor of Northside Hall.
Visit southbend.iu.edu/cie for more information.