The Cameron School of Business recognized years ago that to provide an exceptional educational experience for its students, it would need to supplement the traditional approach to education that includes textbooks, Harvard Business Review articles, case studies and analysis, PowerPoint-assisted lectures and various in-class exercises with activities and experiences beyond the classroom.

In short, the Cameron School of Business saw the need for - and value in - bringing the outside into the classroom and getting its students into the outside world.

The Cameron School of Business has a rich tradition of bringing the outside in, as is evident in its practice of hosting guest speakers, something it has done in its regular classes but particularly during the annual Business Week, which is now in its fourth decade.  

The tradition of having students get outside the classroom and off campus is an equally rich one. Each year its students study at other universities and take trips to visit local, regional, national and foreign businesses. The students analyze and frequently provide advice to businesses.

I asked Steve Harper, the Progress Energy/Betty Cameron Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, to provide a small sample of some of the experiences senior students pursuing the Entrepreneurship and Business Development option had in their fall semester.

Here are a few examples of how that program and its students are not bounded by walls:

• Each student is expected to “shadow” an entrepreneur or management team to gain insights into the challenges associated with emerging ventures.
• Some students participated in the Three-Day Startup Weekend, sponsored by UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
• Some played a key role in interfacing with entrepreneurs and videographers for the 10-by-10 program - part of Cucalorus film festival - that profiled ten entrepreneurs.
• Some of the students made presentations about their experiences to the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.
• Others completed internships at area businesses.