STEM

Students invited to learn about spring break in Silicon Valley opportunity

Tuesday, October 19, 2010, By News Staff

The School of Information Studies will offer a two-credit course this spring that takes enrolled graduate and undergraduate students to Silicon Valley for spring break 2011. The course, IST 500, is open to students from all majors and will be taught by SU Entrepreneur-in-Residence John Liddy.

The iSchool will host an information session for students to learn about this opportunity at noon, Friday, Oct. 22, in 021 Hinds Hall. Pizza will be served.

“Through this trip, Syracuse students will have the chance to interact on a personal level with the companies, products, services and innovators that are changing the way we live,” says Shay Colson G’10, the iSchool director of West Coast relationships, who has helped organize the trip.

Expected visits include such companies as LinkedIn, Google, eBay, Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Intuit, Sequoia Capital, Klout, Mint.com, KickLabs and Stanford Student Enterprises Labs. Colson says participating students can also help shape what companies and ventures the class visits.

“We are creating an ecosystem of entrepreneurship here in Syracuse,” Liddy says. “By visiting a well-established ecosystem, students will be better positioned to help build the local Central New York community. They will also come to understand what resources are already in place locally and how they can leverage them to build an entrepreneurial community similar to Silicon Valley.”

Liddy will also teach students about the resources available to student entrepreneurs in Syracuse, including the Tech Garden, the Student Sandbox and the Kauffman Foundation-funded Enitiative program at SU.

In addition to the trip, students will be required to participate in readings and discussions about the companies, investors, incubators and industries that they will visit. They will also complete some reflective writings after returning from the trip.

Estimated costs are approximately $3,000, including hotel and airfare. Space is limited. For more information, or to attend the information session, contact Liddy at john@thetechgarden.com, or Colson at sccolson@syr.edu.