Description
In this particular detailed elucidation related to entrepreneur launching a new firm or as an intra preneur.
Inside Business | March 27, 2007
Inside Business Home |http://business.fiu.edu
College faculty member garners Kauffman Professor Award.
For the first time, a college faculty member has received a
prestigious Kauffman Professor Award. Irma Becerra-
Fernández, (PhD ’94), associate professor, Department
of Decision Sciences and Information Systems, was one
of nine faculty at Florida International University—
representing law, business, education, engineering, and
arts and sciences—to capture the awards from a field of
39 applicants. Recipients receive up to $15,000 to support
their project.
“Our goal in the Master of Science in Management Information Systems
(MSMIS) program is to prepare the next generation of CIOs for South
Florida and, toward that end, I was developing a new required course
called Management of the IS Function,” she said. “I was thinking about the
course in terms of leadership, and when I saw the grant application, I
realized that the skills that a person would need to be an IS leader are the
same skills he or she would need as an entrepreneur. I also realized that
even if people do not start their own businesses, they still can be
entrepreneurial within a firm, helping transform the IT department from a
cost center to a revenue-generating source for the organization.”
In addition to developing the course with a new entrepreneurial spin,
Becerra-Fernández, who organized a “CIO Lunch and Learn,” held March
24, 2007, focused on IT entrepreneurship, will prepare a case study.
“Several technology companies in Miami have expressed a willingness to
be profiled, and I’ll create a case study designed to help students
understand that you can be successful in IT in South Florida—either as an
entrepreneur launching a new firm or as an ‘intra-preneur’ within an
existing firm—even though we may not have as strong of an IT sector as,
for example, Silicon Valley does,” she said.
Grant spurs creative thinking.
As a further step in integrating the MSMIS program and entrepreneurship,
Irma Becerra-
Fernández
she will encourage students to take the innovative projects they develop
during their graduate coursework one step further by preparing a business
plan and entering the New Venture Challenge, an annual business plan
competition sponsored by the college's Pino Center. She also recognizes
that, as her grant work unfolds, even more ideas are likely to present
themselves.
“I’ve always had an interest in entrepreneurial ventures, and this
opportunity will help me develop that interest and help increase our
students’ awareness of such possibilities as they plan their careers,” she
said.
“The caliber of applicants in 2007 was very strong, and the range of
departments from which our winners came validates our strongly held
conviction that entrepreneurship crosses all disciplines.” said Alan L.
Carsrud, director of the Pino Center and clinical professor of
management.
“We will have a Kauffman Professors’ dinner and a presentation session
for them to report on their projects,” said Colleen Post, (MBA ’03, BFA
’00), associate director, Pino Center, and adjunct professor in
entrepreneurship, management, and international business.
The awards were announced on February 15, 2007.
©2007 FIU College of Business Administration
doc_344104704.pdf
In this particular detailed elucidation related to entrepreneur launching a new firm or as an intra preneur.
Inside Business | March 27, 2007
Inside Business Home |http://business.fiu.edu
College faculty member garners Kauffman Professor Award.
For the first time, a college faculty member has received a
prestigious Kauffman Professor Award. Irma Becerra-
Fernández, (PhD ’94), associate professor, Department
of Decision Sciences and Information Systems, was one
of nine faculty at Florida International University—
representing law, business, education, engineering, and
arts and sciences—to capture the awards from a field of
39 applicants. Recipients receive up to $15,000 to support
their project.
“Our goal in the Master of Science in Management Information Systems
(MSMIS) program is to prepare the next generation of CIOs for South
Florida and, toward that end, I was developing a new required course
called Management of the IS Function,” she said. “I was thinking about the
course in terms of leadership, and when I saw the grant application, I
realized that the skills that a person would need to be an IS leader are the
same skills he or she would need as an entrepreneur. I also realized that
even if people do not start their own businesses, they still can be
entrepreneurial within a firm, helping transform the IT department from a
cost center to a revenue-generating source for the organization.”
In addition to developing the course with a new entrepreneurial spin,
Becerra-Fernández, who organized a “CIO Lunch and Learn,” held March
24, 2007, focused on IT entrepreneurship, will prepare a case study.
“Several technology companies in Miami have expressed a willingness to
be profiled, and I’ll create a case study designed to help students
understand that you can be successful in IT in South Florida—either as an
entrepreneur launching a new firm or as an ‘intra-preneur’ within an
existing firm—even though we may not have as strong of an IT sector as,
for example, Silicon Valley does,” she said.
Grant spurs creative thinking.
As a further step in integrating the MSMIS program and entrepreneurship,
Irma Becerra-
Fernández
she will encourage students to take the innovative projects they develop
during their graduate coursework one step further by preparing a business
plan and entering the New Venture Challenge, an annual business plan
competition sponsored by the college's Pino Center. She also recognizes
that, as her grant work unfolds, even more ideas are likely to present
themselves.
“I’ve always had an interest in entrepreneurial ventures, and this
opportunity will help me develop that interest and help increase our
students’ awareness of such possibilities as they plan their careers,” she
said.
“The caliber of applicants in 2007 was very strong, and the range of
departments from which our winners came validates our strongly held
conviction that entrepreneurship crosses all disciplines.” said Alan L.
Carsrud, director of the Pino Center and clinical professor of
management.
“We will have a Kauffman Professors’ dinner and a presentation session
for them to report on their projects,” said Colleen Post, (MBA ’03, BFA
’00), associate director, Pino Center, and adjunct professor in
entrepreneurship, management, and international business.
The awards were announced on February 15, 2007.
©2007 FIU College of Business Administration
doc_344104704.pdf