Welcome.

The Olivet Entrepreneurship Learning Initiative is an initiative fostering entrepreneurial activities among Olivet students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and members across the Olivet community. The initiative encourages entrepreneurship and innovation across the University, bringing together many cross-curricular interests, including students from Olivet's diverse array of schools.

An Emerging Model.

These programs are accredited by the Association of Biblical Higher Education (ABHE). They provide quality and rigorous learning experiences that produce leaders with a solid knowledge of the Bible, and who are increasingly better equipped to face the modern-day challenges of their respective fields. Like an increasing number of ABHE-accredited schools, Olivet offers "programs of study not necessarily leading exclusively to church occupations but in all cases intended to foster Gospel pre-occupation regardless of one’s future vocation."

A Praxis Approach.

Olivet University's mission statement says scholarship and practical learning go hand-in-hand. The University has always strived for "praxis" academic model - a two-part structure intended to link theory to practice. We want Olivet University to be a place where students are served with learning environments where they can apply their textbook knowledge effectively.

In terms of curriculum, this translates into programs featuring traditional classroom learning as well as immersive field experiences. Foundational learning in classrooms and experiential learning in the real-world environments complement each other in important ways at Olivet. For instance, many of our graduate programs require students to commit 20 hours a week or more engaging in some form of real-world training or employment related to their fields while they complete their traditional courses.

The objective of our praxis approach is to provide students with valuable professional experience that enhances their academic learning through curriculum-based, practical experience. As in all of our programs, Olivet's faculty are the key to success. Students enrolled in programs that require on-the-job experiences interact frequently (at least weekly) with Olivet faculty to incorporate these experiences in the learning process and draw connections between academic and professional areas of their programs of study.

Getting Started.

Olivet's Entrepreneurship Learning Initiative is our model focused on foundational and experiential learning that enables students to explore entrepreneurship under the guidance of qualified mentors. These mentors comprise a growing community of founders, experienced entrepreneurs, professionals working with start-up companies and small businesses with a calling to pass on their expertise to students across a broad range of topics and industry areas.

By tapping into start-up expertise and extensive connections of Olivet's mentors, students gain access to knowledge, as well as opportunities to apply this knowledge in the experiential learning areas within their programs of study. The result? Better learning outcomes at Olivet and beyond, gained from the deeper perspective students build by testing the practicality of their academic learning in real-world experiences.

Whether you're an experienced entrepreneur, a student interested in entrepreneurship, or both -- we invite you to be a part of a growing global community that supports the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative at Olivet. There's never been a better time.