Dr Jason Cope, Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (SIR) award and will be joining the Jim Moran Institute for Global Entrepreneurship at the College of Business and the Management Department at Florida State University this summer.
Dr Cope will fly out to Florida in August where he will be based for one semester, returning in December. Florida State University (FSU) is consistently ranked as a top university in the United States - it is public university with a diverse population and a large campus, attended by approximately 30,000 undergraduate students and 8,000 graduate students.
Dean of the FSU's College of Business, Caryn Beck-Dudley, said, "Having Dr Cope here as a visiting scholar will enhance our international perspective in our entrepreneurship programme and give us a platform to develop future international exchange and research opportunities."
As part of his Fulbright scholarship, he will be co-teaching a number of undergraduate classes in entrepreneurship at FSU. His key aim is to work closely with existing faculty to create an exciting international dimension to the Institute's new entrepreneurial programme.
Dr Cope will also be working with students from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, established in 1890 as a land-grant institution with the sole purpose of educating African Americans. FSU's permanent relationship with Florida A&M University will enable Dr Cope to collaborate with A&M Students through an entrepreneurial programme in the college of engineering focused on technology entrepreneurship and commercialisation.
Another aspect for Dr Cope will be his involvement in a wide range of outreach activities. The most important aspect will be working with the Institute's volunteer community services outreach programme, which works closely with small firms in need of one-to-one advice and consultation. Dr Cope will also be working with the Institute's Junior Achievement (JA) programme, which sponsors JA programmes at local elementary and high schools in Leon County. He has also been invited as a keynote speaker to the Tallahassee Rotary Club and the Leon County Chamber of Commerce.
The aim of the scholarship is to develop a lasting and sustainable contribution to the entrepreneurial teaching and outreach activities at FSU and Florida A&M and to establish a lasting relationship between these universities and the University of Strathclyde.
In particular, Dr Cope will work with Dr Jim Dever of the Jim Moran Institute to develop a student exchange programme with Strathclyde that will allow students to study at their respective universities, earning credit for their coursework. While in a visiting capacity, students would be placed in an intern programme whereby they can study and work in a foreign country and truly absorb the cultural and academic aspects of the country.
Dr Dever said, "One very important aspect of Dr cope's visit is his desire to participate in our student-centred activities."
Dr Cope said, "I am absolutely thrilled with this award. This opportunity has been made possible by the enthusiasm and hard work of Dr Dever who developed this SIR proposal. Jim has also been a Fulbright Scholar, teaching entrepreneurship at the Kazakhstan Institute for Management in 2005. I am also thankful to the faculties of FSU and Florida A&M universities for their effort and support in creating this opportunity."