Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies Information

Launched in 1999 at the top-ranked Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies is in its second decade of delivering entrepreneurship education and programs on campus, in the State and across the U.S. The Institute is recognized for its three student-led venture funds -- the Wolverine, Frankel and Social Venture Funds -- internship program with start-up and venture capital firms, dare to dream grant awards for student start-ups, Michigan Business Challenge business plan competition, national symposia, and the TechArb business accelerator supported in partnership with the College of Engineering and the Office of Research. The Institute continues to demonstrate unsurpassed leadership in developing an entrepreneurship curriculum that simultaneously engages students in real-world learning experiences with start-up companies and venture-capital investment firms. In a broader context, the Zell Lurie Institute has played a major role as a participant and catalyst in statewide initiatives to commercialize University research and to incubate emerging companies in the high-tech, biopharmaceutical, medical-devices and renewable-energy industries. Through its collaboration with leaders from the public and private sectors, the Institute has helped to fuel the growth of a nascent venture-capital investment community that will retain and attract new ventures to the State.