Announcing exciting new programming to strengthen our core curricula
By Jan Ryan
Executive Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the College of Fine Arts
Welcome back to the action everyone! I’m excited about the surprises we have in store for you at the newly created Center for Creative Entrepreneurship this fall.
From idea development to creative hands-on workshops, we are covering new ground this year for our College of Fine Arts (COFA) students who have an itch to leave their impact on the world.
An Entrepreneurial Mindset
The mission of COFA’s newly created Center for Creative Entrepreneurship (CCE) couldn’t be more focused. We exist to empower our students with the mindset, skillset and the practice necessary to transform your passions into a sustainable business or career. We are focused on bringing forth your innate entrepreneurial abilities toward the development of your future.
It is for everyone
It is for everyone—from studio artists, sculptors, musicians and product designers to gaming developers, designers for 3D projection mapping, sound, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and immersive experiences, as well as Integrated Design students from other disciplines across the UT campuses. Within COFA we are focused on developing students who are able to move within the nexus of their artistic skills and technology with an entrepreneurial mindset, so they can look at innovative solutions to address old and new problems
Building, branding, selling and sustaining
Designed with the creative thinker in mind, our two core courses are Creative Entrepreneurship and Women in Entrepreneurship.
In these classes, you will learn how to market and brand your business, understand your audience, pricing and business skills like networking, negotiation and basic finance and accounting principles.
Exciting Co-Curricular Programming
Ideas Lab
New this year, the COFA “Ideas Lab” is up and running every Monday from 5–6 p.m. in DFA 1.102. This is a weekly Monday meetup for creative thinkers to develop and nurture their ideas (yes, there’s pizza involved!) It’s your opportunity to talk with mentors and meet with other like-minded creators and artists each week.
Come join us, or email any questions to creative.entrepreneurship@utexas.edu.
Pathways to Entrepreneurship (P2E)
Our speaker series is back (and yes, there’s more food involved!) The series kicked off on Sept. 17 with UT alums Dan and Lisa Graham discussing “The Art of Combining Social Purpose with Profit.”
3 Day Startup for Creatives
The weekend of Nov. 1–3 we’re hosting the first-ever 3 Day Startup for Creatives, right here in COFA! This is a facilitated 72-hour learn-by-doing free workshop where participants will be empowered to launch a business over a weekend.
If you’d like to know more, visit our website or email me at jan.ryan@austin.utexas.edu with your questions or to request office hours by appointment.
I look forward to hearing from you and meeting more of our new students!
Best,
Jan Ryan