Newswise — HANOVER, N.H. – The number of MBA entrepreneurs is on the rise, and this is no exception at the Tuck School of Business. Entrepreneurship has always had a long and rich history at Tuck, and to support the growing student interest in entrepreneurship, the school launched the Entrepreneurship Initiative (EI) last fall. The EI is designed to support student entrepreneurship through the creation and coordination of programs, activities and events.

The EI has seen tremendous success in its first year by enhancing the resources available to students interested in entrepreneurial ventures. Of the students who graduated from Tuck in 2012, about half the class had listed entrepreneurship as one of their main interests upon enrollment. More than half the class (55 percent) acted on this interest before graduation by enrolling in entrepreneurship courses or undertaking course projects where they actually worked on an entrepreneurial idea. About 10 percent of the class chose to take a step further and devoted significant additional time outside of the classroom to improve and develop their ideas, through structured extracurricular activities organized by the new initiative, such as the Barris Incubator and Summer Venture programs.

“By taking advantage of the entrepreneurial resources at Tuck, you get the best of both worlds,” says Joaquin Villarreal T’08, manager of the initiative. “You get a top-notch business education, which you can apply towards more traditional career choices for MBAs, but you also get the opportunity to explore the process behind starting a new venture and develop a set of tools to address very distinctive challenges that often face both start-ups, as well as established businesses.”

The initiative has expanded several programs at Tuck, including the Barris Incubator Program, which supports and facilitates the launch and development of Tuck- and Dartmouth-related ventures. The EI also established an “Entrepreneur in Residence” program. The program taps into the wealth of Tuck and Dartmouth entrepreneurs by directly connecting them with students. Visiting entrepreneurs give a presentation to students, hold office hours and one-on-one meetings, and are available for student consultation beyond their visit to campus, making it easier for students and visitors to connect and interact.

Tuck strives to provide the world’s best educational preparation for a career of business leadership. The EI supports students with services and programs that complement their academic instruction on entrepreneurship. The EI works towards these objectives in association with the Dartmouth Entrepreneurial Network (DEN), Tuck’s Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship, Tuck’s student‐run Entrepreneurship Club, and with many local and community partners. The EI also aims to support and increase collaboration between Dartmouth’s professional schools (Tuck School of Business, Thayer School of Engineering, Geisel School of Medicine) and the college.

Founded in 1900, Tuck is the first graduate school of management in the country and consistently ranks among the top business schools worldwide. Tuck remains distinctive among the world's great business schools by combining human scale with global reach, rigorous coursework with experiences requiring teamwork, and valued traditions with innovation.