A NEW PROGRAM at Nova Southeastern University’s Huizenga College
of Business & Entrepreneurship in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
offers undergraduates the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree
in business, a minor in venture creation, and an MBA in just four
years. Students accepted into the Huizenga Business Innovation
Academy, launched last fall, can pursue this option.
During the first and second years of the program, students participate
in special summer bootcamps, during which they complete
faculty-mentored internships with South Florida businesses, create
ideas for student businesses, and learn how to run those businesses
on campus. Twenty students are chosen as Razor’s Edge
Scholars, who become the CEOs of these businesses.
All students in the Huizenga Academy receive annual US$19,000
scholarships, as long as they maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. They also
must participate in co-curricular events, such as monthly academy
meetings, volunteer projects, and
sessions with the school’s entrepreneurs-
and executives-in-residence.
Students participate in SharkCage, an
experience similar to pitching an idea
on the television program “Shark Tank,” in
which they identify business opportunities.
Those who graduate from the academy each receive a $20,000
investment from NSU, which they can invest in their own startups.
The Huizenga Business Innovation Academy is one of five
programs at the business school that allow students to complete
undergraduate business degrees and MBAs in four years. The
subject areas of the school’s other four bachelor+MBA programs
include finance, management, marketing, and sports and recreation
management.