McGuire Center Named as Finalist for GCEC Venture Creation Award

The McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona was recently nominated as a finalist in the Outstanding Contributions to Venture Creation Award category as part of the virtual 2020 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC) Conference. The awards annually showcase and celebrate university entrepreneurship in nine categories.

The Venture Creation Award category recognizes organizations that creatively and effectively support the process of launching and accelerating university-affiliated startups through competitions, incubators and accelerators. Organizations are judged on their program content, tangible outcomes of the program, long-term program growth and community engagement.

Eller’s McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship was appraised for its various programs and initiatives designed to underline the importance of cultivating innovation within startups, with special attention paid to McGuire’s New Venture Development (NVD) program. The program is a highly selective year-long course that helps students develop business ventures from the idea stage to launch-ready—a constructive experience that allows its participants to get a head start on their futures.

The McGuire submission to the award category was a collective effort from a number of departments, centers and organizations across the Arizona campus, in an effort to showcase the collaborative mindset of the University’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Arizona FORGE, The University of Arizona Center for Innovation, Tech Core, Tech Launch Arizona, Startup Tucson and TENWEST Impact Festival were all included in the submission.

The McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, established in 1984 as one of the first university-based centers for entrepreneurship, offers learning and resources to cover different angles of entrepreneurship for University of Arizona students. The Center also organizes various programs designed to enhance each student’s and professional’s education and career as well as support social innovation, small business and economic development and more.