The Stanford Graduate School of Business will offer its first Europe-based Stanford Ignite program in September in partnership with École polytechnique, one of Europe's finest schools of engineering and science and one of the leading grandes écoles in France. The online application for the 9-week, part-time program in Paris is now open. The application deadline is June 14, 2013.
Stanford Ignite programs offer hands on learning in innovation and entrepreneurship. (Photo: Business Wire)
The Stanford Ignite-Polytechnique program will provide exposure to both the fundamentals of business and the practical aspects of identifying, evaluating, and moving business ideas forward. It is designed to deliver the same kind of immersive, innovative, and hands-on instruction that working professionals and graduate students at Stanford experience in a European dimension. The course content will teach innovators how to formulate, develop, and commercialize their ideas.
Participants, who are expected to have strong scientific and/or technological backgrounds, with significant innovation and leadership potential, will learn core business skills and experience working in a team to develop ideas into a business plan. "It is appropriate for individuals who wish to bring innovation and entrepreneurial thinking to their current role, and for those who are planning to start a new venture," said Stanford Ignite Faculty Director Yossi Feinberg, a professor of economics at the Graduate School of Business. "It provides graduate students, innovators, scientists, and engineers from leading companies the essential toolset for creating impactful ventures."
The program will draw on the same world-class business faculty who teach in Stanford's MBA Program, which is infused with the culture and practice of innovation that pervades Stanford University and Silicon Valley. École polytechnique will enrich the program by bringing leading European executives, venture investors, legal experts, and other practitioners to the program as guest speakers and mentors to provide real-world feedback on team projects.
The nondegree program will run between September 19 and November 17. Participants will meet Thursday evenings, Fridays, and Saturdays every other week; upon successful completion they will receive a Stanford-Polytechnique certificate.
"Creating the Stanford Ignite-Polytechnique program in Paris is an exceptional opportunity, in alignment with one of our priority objectives: to develop entrepreneurship-related activities anchored in cutting-edge science and technology," said Bruno Rostand, director of innovation and entrepreneurship at École polytechnique. "The program will be extremely attractive to young researchers, engineers, and other professionals; it will leverage the experience and international recognition of the Stanford GSB in business education and the outstanding research environment of Polytechnique."
Intended for individuals who do not have graduate business training, applicants must be currently enrolled students in a master's, PhD, MD, or postdoctoral program studying nonbusiness fields; or must be working professionals with a minimum of a bachelor's (BA or BS) degree from a regionally accredited institution. Advanced degrees are preferred. The program will be conducted in English and held in Paris.
At least 30 highly qualified applicants will be admitted on a rolling basis. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit all materials as soon as possible. A complete application will contain a completed online application, a resume, three short essays, and two letters of recommendation. Tuition is US$9,000 (circa €7,000).
The Stanford Ignite-Polytechnique program is the third in a series of part-time Stanford Ignite programs to be offered in innovation hubs around the globe to enable audiences outside of Silicon Valley to tap into Stanford's distinctive approach to teaching entrepreneurship and management. The program aims to give participants the direction they need to innovate and take their ideas to the next level. The first part-time Ignite program was introduced at Stanford in 2011. The second will be held in Bangalore, India, in August 2013, and another is planned for Beijing in 2014.
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Contacts:
Stanford Graduate School of Business
Barbara Buell, 650-723-1771
buell_barbara@gsb.stanford.edu
