The Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation was created to introduce the concept of entrepreneurship to students and faculty, to provide knowledge and experience for those who desire a deeper understanding, and to inspire all to live their lives in an entrepreneurial manner.
About the Center
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The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) at the University of Florida was founded in 2000 with one simple mission: to promote an entrepreneurial lifestyle in our students and to provide them with the tools and experiences needed to creatively pursue new opportunities and innovations.
Through courses, degree programs and special events, CEI currently serves more than 2,500 students per year. Partnering with 6 other colleges at the University, CEI delivers introductory and specialized courses at both the graduate and undergraduate level, provides practical learning opportunities through GatorNest—an experiential learning laboratory, and offers every graduate student at the University of Florida the option to receive a graduate certificate.
In addition, CEI offers one of the nation's only and most comprehensive specialized Master's of Science degree programs in Entrepreneurship, the Thomas S. Johnson Master of Science in Entrepreneurship Program.
Our goal at CEI is to create the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs through a program that integrates theory and practice for an experiential education. Of the thousands of students CEI serves each year, many of them arrive already driven by a strong desire to follow a pathway of innovation, others are merely intrigued about the concept of entrepreneurship. While the impact of entrepreneurial education is typically not immediately realized, quite often it is the student who least expected to become entrepreneurial who returns to say their careers and lives have been significantly influenced in a positive way by the knowledge and experience they've gained through CEI.
The University of Florida has declared itself the foundation for The Gator Nation worldwide. From social entrepreneurship initiatives developed in partnership with the University of Florida's Honors college, to an Integrated Technology Venture program partnering with the College of Engineering and the Office of Technology Licensing, and everywhere in between, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Florida intends to play a significant role in laying those foundational bricks for The Gator Nation...and we intend to do that one student at a time!
