Playground of Possibility

Two Immersive, Experiential Courses Provide Entrepreneurship and Leadership Training for Undergraduate Students

Do you want to develop software? Are you driven to initiate societal change? What if you could launch your own business or lead your non-profit organization while earning college credit? If launching a startup or solving a pressing social issue is your goal, this fall, the University of Louisville College of Business will begin providing unique learning platforms for ambitious, forward-thinking undergraduate students to institute real change, be it in tech industry startups or area non-profit organizations and initiatives, before they even earn degrees. Two groundbreaking, 18-hour experiential learning classes–Sandbox and Elevator–challenge undergraduate business students to work collaboratively to tackle real-world issues or address consumer technology needs across disciplines and academic units at UofL. These offerings do more than teach entrepreneurship and leadership—they let students live it.

Sandbox: Real Tools, Real Stakes, Real Impact

Though it functions as a class, Sandbox is more like a launchpad. Originally created as an experiment at Brigham Young University in 2020, the two-semester capstone experience is geared toward entrepreneurs with a passion for software technology and is facilitated through the Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship. Students in management, computer information systems or Bachelor of Business Administration programs participating in the course are placed into two-or three-person groups with learners in UofL’s electrical engineering program at the J.B. Speed School of Engineering and graphic design program at the College of Arts and Sciences. The Sandbox platform challenges these small teams to cultivate relationships with their curated venture capitalist network, including mentors and early adopter customers, pitch their product to prospective backers and develop design prototypes. “You have your individual team that’s building together, but then as you unlock different steps in the Sandbox process, it opens up a whole network of early adopter customers,” shared Ryan Quinn, Department Chair for Management and Entrepreneurship. “You get access to that network, and then you get a little further along, and you get access to a network of founders you can ask for advice about how they created their [products].”

However, the Sandbox experience does not end when courses are completed and a degree has been earned. “You get access to a venture capitalist network where you can learn about how to pitch it, and then there’s also a preferred hire network,” he noted. “Sandbox has a network of companies that have said if a Sandbox student sends a resume, it goes straight to the hiring manager. You get first consideration if you do it. So that’s another network that you get involved in.”

Elevator: Ascending Through Positive Action

While Sandbox focuses on entrepreneurship, the capstone course Elevator, sponsored by a generous donation from the Bufford family and offered through the Center for Positive Leadership, applies this same model to community leadership and social change. With Elevator, management or BBA students collaborate with learners from other UofL programs such as criminal justice, sustainability, urban studies, sociology and communications, working in interdisciplinary teams over the course of an academic year to address local issues—from elder care loneliness to sustainable green spaces. Projects are community-driven and often sponsored by local non-profits or small businesses. “Elevator is basically change leadership…stu

dents are going to be trying to make changes in the community,” shared Quinn. “One is a business where they are going to try to grow DaLat’s Café, a Vietnamese cafe in South Louisville, and a local non-profit is sponsoring students in creating a grow room to help eliminate a food desert.”

Designed for Collaboration, Destined for Growth

With a cross-disciplinary structure, Sandbox and Elevator are revolutionizing the undergraduate educational experience by forming well-balanced teams structured to aid students in showcasing their personal strengths and exposing them to skills across several industries, mirroring the dynamics of real-world project teams. This intentional collaboration encourages communication, innovative thinking and the ability to solve problems efficiently, which are necessary skills employers seek.

As these programs evolve, so too does the college’s vision. Hoping to expand access, increase enrollment and eventually build additional experiential classes modeled after Sandbox and Elevator—perhaps in fields like the arts, public health or data science, Quinn said that he is hopeful the college can continue “growing other programs like this, whether it’s programs that are entrepreneurial…besides software, [or] similar programs that are non-entrepreneurial, like Elevator.” Recognizing the potential in educating across UofL’s academic units and overcoming programmatic boundaries, he explained, “I would love to see experiential learning become the norm rather than the exception in universities.”

Building a Legacy of Lifting Others

Are you interested in mentoring a team, participating in a customer feedback network or contributing funding to Sandbox or Elevator? For more information or to donate your time or financial contributions to Sandbox, contact Management and Entrepreneurship Instructor Jack Manzella at john.manzella.1@louisville.edu. For Elevator, connect with Quinn at ryan.quinn@louisville.edu or (502) 852-4873.

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About the UofL College of Business:

Founded in 1953, the UofL College of Business fosters intellectual and economic vitality in our city, region, and the global business landscape. Our academic programs, research, community outreach initiatives, and commitment to student success inspire lives and businesses to flourish through entrepreneurship, innovation, critical thinking, diversity and the power of people.

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