When I told friends about the Entrepreneurship Center and Entrepreneur-In-Residence role at UMass Boston, they thought it had been created just for me, a perfect fit. I have always been a passionate entrepreneur. From high tech to small urban businesses, I have been through classically executed IPO’s, rode the tech bubble and landed back in the sobriety of the new millennium. Now, I believe Boston is on the edge of a new wave of entrepreneurial opportunity fueled by its leadership in biotechnology, healthcare and big data informatics. I believe UMass Boston is the perfect platform from which to drive that next wave of entrepreneurship.
Why UMass Boston? Well, I have worked with Harvard iLab and MIT Enterprise Forum, but at UMass Boston I have found something different, a pragmatic drive to applied education. I saw this first in the work that Dan Philips and Entrepreneurship Center did in preparing UMass Boston students to work in entrepreneurial roles in industry. The EC Sales & Marketing course and Practicum gave students tools that made them immediately productive in a start up role. Combine that with the student’s renown for hard work and gritty determination and you have the recipe that puts UMass Boston above the rest. As an entrepreneur I have taken interns from many notable ivy league colleges, but I hired from UMass Boston.
UMass Boston has been both visionary and pragmatic in creating its state-of-the-art Venture Development Center with wet labs, HPC facilities and dedicated mentoring specifically geared to the High Tech/Bio/Healthcare industries. The VDC bridges the gap between academia and industry, bringing real world experiences to students at the heart of the campus, an access to excellence that’s more than equal to the best. As the university builds momentum in its research, the VDC and the new Integrated Sciences Complex illuminate the path for entrepreneurs both inside and outside of the university. It’s a great time to be here, almost a coming of age of the UMass Boston vision.
Even so, UMass Boston has stayed true to its core mission of urban entrepreneurship and development. As an urbanite myself, it’s gratifying to see the economic development in Dorchester and the audacious vision of the 25-year campus master plan. Our diverse student population reflects the future of Boston’s workforce. Entrepreneurship no longer requires the deep pockets of venture capitalists, but it’s a reality for students from all walks of life with the determination and the guts to take that path. UMass Boston has positioned itself to be a leading participant in the next wave of workforce development and I am lucky to be a part of it.
— JOBS — JOBS — JOBS —
By the way, for all you students out there we have PAID internships and JOBS waiting for you now. Frankly, more positions than I can find students to fill them. Please email me at david.mcfarlane@umb.edu to get the ball rolling.