SMU+GSV Mission Summit: On a Mission to Change the World for Good

Next week in Dallas, GSV will convene innovative and forward-thinking minds in education, business, technology and industry for the inaugural SMU+GSV Mission Summit. The three-day conference is packed full of powerful keynotes, networking opportunities and interactive sessions aimed at accelerating ideas that combine purpose and profits and changing the world for good.

Getting Smart is proud to have partnered with American Student Assistance to create an Educating Entrepreneurs Track that explores teaching and leading entrepreneurship programs, business partnerships, economic mobility, workforce development and building talent pipelines. Sessions will be led by innovative ed leaders, educators and students. You can check out the full summit agenda here.

Check out these Educating Entrepreneurs sessions:

Cultivating Entrepreneurial Mindset in Engineers

Learn how leading engineering schools are cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset from opportunity recognition to solution design and delivering impact.

• Doug Melton, Kern Family Foundation
• Kurt Paterson, Arizona State University
• Joseph LeDoux, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Luis Perez-Breva, MIT & S1 Industries

Joining Forces for our Future:  High Schools, Community, & Entrepreneurship

By creating in-school incubators, students learn entrepreneurship, working to address real-world problems.  Within rigorous, for-credit INCubatoredu programs, teachers use best practices from Silicon Valley and provide students with a safe environment to experiment with their ideas and develop their skills. Volunteers from the business community join the school team to share their expertise.  Through this collaborative work, students experience mentorship and networking opportunities that can help them turn their ideas into successful businesses.

• Margarita Geleske, Uncharted Learning
• Dr. Mike Waldrip, Frisco ISD
• Dr. Lori Rapp, Lewisville ISD
• Isaiah Stanback, Steadfast Fitness
• Jason McCann, Vari

Authentically Teaching Entrepreneurship to Teens

“Get to failure fast” is a rallying cry among entrepreneurs, but generally not educators. The entrepreneur’s discovery process of learning from defeat is at the opposite end of traditional learning in schools.  Can the entrepreneur’s learning practices be transferred to the classroom? Hear from teachers and students who use Silicon Valley processes that ultimately teach them how to learn from failure in and out of class.  Students of INCubatoredu classes will share experiences and businesses they developed.

• Victoria Andrews, Getting Smart
• Margarita Geleske, Uncharted Learning
• Jason Cooper and Nicole Franczvai, Lewisville ISD and Lewisville HS Students
• Tommy Thompson, Frisco ISD and Centennial HS Students

Building Talent Pipelines through High School Work-based Learning

Working-to-learn experiences help students build skills employers need and provide businesses with an expanded pipeline of talent. They also help communities reduce unemployment and attract new businesses. Seems like a win-win. But when 79% of high school students say they are interested in a work-based learning experience, why have only 2% completed an internship? Awareness, access to opportunity, and know-how are at the top of the list for both learners and employers.  Hear about how to implement four ways to improve your employee pipelines including: getting involved in project-based learning through a new national pilot, EPIC; partnering with and hiring from work colleges; supporting high school pathways (P-Tech in TX), or offering a summer internship experience.

• Julie Lammers, American Student Assistance
• Kenyatta Lovett, Educate Texas
• Jason A. Tyszko, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
• Raymie Venable, Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship Academy

Employers & Entrepreneurship Educators: A Win/Win Collaboration

Over 90% of employers agree that it’s important to have an entrepreneurial mindset to prepare candidates to enter the workforce. Enter stage right: entrepreneurial education models that are actively engaging GenZ in career exploration, helping them develop transferable durable skills employers want, and setting them on a confident path for building wealth. Hear from business leaders on entrepreneurial education is connecting employers and learners and helping businesses solve real-world business problems through employer-led project-based learning and youth business plan and pitch competitions.

• J.D. LaRock, NFTE
• Corey Mohn, CAPS Network
• Tanyania Bobb, Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) Dallas ISD

Career Exploration and Entrepreneurship in K-8 Education
Is it too soon to introduce careers in K-8 schools?  Actually, no.  Exposing and exploring connections between academics and careers helps a young student develop in many areas.  It sparks curiosity, fosters self-awareness, and encourages young people to explore possibility. With entrepreneurship’s hands-on approach, hear how students develop creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills.

• Tom Vander Ark, Getting Smart
• Ed Hidalgo, Cajon Valley USD
• Julie Lammers, American Student Assistance
• Jerri LaMirand, Uncharted Learning
• Melodi Kunn, Midlothian ISD

Business Partnerships in Out-of-School Learning and Workforce Development
When thinking about the learner’s journey from school to career, so much focus is justifiably highlighting what happens in school day settings. But in the 21st-century world, skills rule the day. And much of what the workforce demands are skills built-in experiences out of the classroom. Join this conversation of business leaders and out-of-school time-doers to learn how their partnerships are meeting the needs of the workforce of tomorrow.

• Byron Sanders, Big Thought
• Antoine Joyce, All Stars Project, Inc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoinejoyce/
• Angelica Barrera, Youth leader and Big Thought Apprentice
• Mike Lawson, Boeing
• Paul Buckley, D Custom

Economic Mobility: Managing Pathways at Scale

Dallas College and Dallas ISD have rolled out the largest Early College / PTECH strategy in the country where over 8,000 students are enrolled in associate degree programs in partnership with over a hundred industry-based partners. As the envelopes that previously held K12, higher ed, and workforce dissolve, communities require a cross-institutional approach to managing the student lifecycle. Dallas College and Dallas ISD have partnered with Economic Mobility Systems to develop the PTECH Pathway Manager where student journey maps and course-level data converge to help institutional leaders effectively manage the work at scale in Salesforce. This work is taking place in a context of a larger community plan called Dallas Thrives that proposes to double the number of adults earning a living wage in a county that educates 10% of Texas students and 1% of the nation.

• Dr. Anna Mays
• Dr. Cheryl Nevels, Dallas ISD
• Dr. Tiffany Kirksey, Dallas College
• Mark Flanagan, Economic Mobility Systems
• Dr. Eric Ban, Economic Mobility Systems

Producing a More Relevant and Innovative Workforce

Students are sitting in classrooms today with a sense of fearlessness and optimism, ready to create a brighter and more prosperous world; as such, our way of thinking and how we prepare learners must evolve and change. This workshop, through the lens of equity and diversity, will showcase creative programming to empower high school-aged learners to become adaptable, curious, and industrious. Join the Readiness Institute at Penn State and the Mark Cuban Foundation AI Bootcamp to discuss how we can shape a future that works for everyone.

• Victoria Andrews, Getting Smart
• Justin Aglio, Readiness Institute at Penn State