The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at Rutgers Business School (CUEED) is the first center of its kind in the nation to integrate venture capital and city resources with university research to study and promote economic development and entrepreneurship. |  |
CUEED concentrates on building strong corporate and community partnerships to support the revitalization of Newark and other urban areas in New Jersey, educating students by providing real world experience in urban entrepreneurship and economic development, and taking a multidisciplinary approach to research that will aid economic policy. CUEED’s activities are divided into three areas: research, education, and economic development.
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Research
The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic development takes a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to research. We seek out faculty members at Rutgers and other institutions whose research complements our research focus. We bring leading scholars in these areas to campus for dialogues and collaboration. We develop Rutgers-based research projects and collaborate with other universities to extend knowledge, influence public policy, and impact practice.
The Center’s research is focused on five areas:
Urban Entrepreneurship — job creation, business development, community entrepreneurship
Technology Entrepreneurship — technology transfer, incubators, technology clusters, leveraging university patents, green business
Social Entrepreneurship — social problem-solving, social-purpose business, social investments
International Entrepreneurship — institutions and entrepreneurial activity, SME’s and developing nations, entrepreneurship towards economic development
Economic Development — urban institutions and development, economic development and emerging economies
Speaker Series & Academic Conferences
CUEED assists policy makers through its research and expertise. Throughout the year, CUEED hosts various seminars and conferences focused on Urban Entrepreneurship, Green Technology Ventures, and Social Entrepreneurship. In addition, CUEED partners with various community and State organizations to host events related to economic development and urban entrepreneurship.
Education
Providing students with real-world experience which is applicable to any business career and training students to be smarter about economic policy are the central foci of courses provided through CUEED. Students in the Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development I and II courses take the knowledge they have gained in the classroom and put it into practice by working with the community.
CUEED has created Rutgers Initiative in Social Entrepreneurship (RISE). The goal of RISE is to empower the budding social entrepreneurs that are on the Rutgers Newark and New Brunswick campuses and in the surrounding communities. Through various activities, students, faculty, and the community are engaged in learning about and using the social entrepreneurship approach.
Economic Development Initiatives
Entrepreneurship Pioneers Initiative (EPI)
Enabled by its corporate, government and community partnerships, CUEED has launched The Entrepreneurship Pioneers Initiative. This is a comprehensive program which invests in the human capital and social capital of first generation entrepreneurs. Funded by the North Jersey Partners through a grant provided by the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, EPI is a robust training program that equips first generation entrepreneurs with the training and tools needed to help them grow their businesses. Program participants receive extensive training, group and 1-on-1 counseling, networking opportunities, mentoring and financial guidance. EPI is a collaboration between CUEED, Rutgers Small Business Development Center, Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and Greater Newark Business Development Consortium.
The Profeta Urban Investment Foundation (Profeta Fund)
The Profeta Fund is a partnership with the Profeta Urban Investment Foundation at Rutgers Business School, a private, not-for-profit equity investment fund established in 2008 through a contribution from Paul V. Profeta, president and sole shareholder of national real estate investment, management, and leasing firm bearing his name. The fund has two, related, missions. Its first is to assist in the revitalization and renaissance of the City of Newark by providing seed money for the establishment of business enterprises owned and operated by members of Newark’s minority communities, whose enterprises are (i) headquartered in Newark, (ii) do business in Newark and (iii) return real value to Newark by making jobs available to Newark residents and by providing goods and services required by those residents.
Photo by Eric Koomen, © 2008
