UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Associate Professor Anne Hoag recently returned from Botswana, where she served as a Fulbright Specialist. She spent six weeks at Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST, pronounced “be-yoost”) focusing on entrepreneurship education.
Hoag is an associate professor of telecommunications in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and the director of the Center for Penn State Student Entrepreneurship.
During her specialist mission, Hoag evaluated the university’s entrepreneurship needs and made recommendations for ways to improve programming, with duties ranging from reviewing the library collection to evaluating curriculum. She also consulted on BIUST’s tech transfer program, which helps graduate students and faculty at the university transfer their ideas and inventions to the marketplace.
“Thanks to the Fulbright Specialist program, our university was able to bring Dr. Hoag to BIUST,” said Dimane Mpoleng, Director of BIUST Technology Transfer. “Not only was Prof. Hoag’s entrepreneurship expertise invaluable while she was on campus, we look forward to continuing our partnership.”
BIUST enrolled its first students in 2011 at its campus in Palapye. It was funded by the government of Botswana to produce world-class research in science, technology and engineering, with the ultimate goal of improving the country’s social and economic development for its 2.3 million people. It also aims to diversify an economy that leans heavily on mining, cattle ranching and tourism.
When she arrived on July 11, Hoag dove into all things related to entrepreneurship. If she didn’t have the specialty knowledge herself, she called in help from Penn State contacts to provide expertise.
“I brought back with me a better understanding about what we’re doing here at Penn State,” Hoag said. “The methods we use here in North America like lean methods and design thinking were easily adapted to the needs of BIUST.”
The Fulbright Specialist program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and allows for academics and established professionals to engage in two- to six-week stints as consultants.
At Penn State, Hoag has worked to build out the ENTI minor, growing it to 10 clusters since its inception in 2012. She has also formed the Center for Penn State Student Entrepreneurship, an affiliation of entrepreneurship-related programs throughout the University.
The Center For Penn State Student Entrepreneurship is supported by Penn State Undergraduate Education.