Introducing the Babson Academy for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurial Learning

Babson Academy
Listen

Babson College, the pioneer and global leader in entrepreneurship education, today announced the launch of the Babson Academy for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurial Learning (Babson Academy).

Created to advance global entrepreneurial learning at universities around the world, the academy is rooted in Babson’s mission for its second century—to take entrepreneurial education shaped by its acclaimed and dedicated faculty to more people and places worldwide.

The Babson Academy provides faculty, administrators, and students of other educational institutions access to Babson’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, and hopes to inspire change in the way universities and colleges think about, teach, and learn entrepreneurship.

The Babson Academy will launch with a new, inaugural program this November—Babson Fellows for Entrepreneurship Educators.

This program brings 20 acclaimed faculty from universities around the world into a weeklong, immersive Babson residency. Here, they are paired with a Babson faculty mentor and will strengthen their approach to teaching by experiencing classroom time, as well as entrepreneurial extracurricular activities on and off Babson’s campus. Once they return to their home campus, the Fellows launch an individual project to enhance their university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Babson’s existing educator and student programs, including the Global Symposia for Entrepreneurship Educators (SEE), Babson Build, and the Babson Collaborative, have moved from Babson Executive Education to the Babson Academy to be expanded upon and enhanced.

Also forthcoming is the Babson Academy’s first SEE program at Babson Dubai, the College’s newest location. In February 2019, Global Symposia for Entrepreneurship Educators—Dubai will give local participants the skills needed to pass on an entrepreneurial mindset to their students to shape the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders.

Longstanding Babson community members Amir Reza and Heidi Neck are leading this effort.

As dean of the Babson Academy, Reza will apply his deep-seated experience in international education to his role in supporting global university participants. As academic director, renowned entrepreneurship educator Neck will oversee the development and delivery of Babson programming worldwide.

“Academic institutions, as changemakers, recognize the power of entrepreneurship education,” said Neck. “But entrepreneurship isn’t just another discipline. It’s a way of thinking and acting that transcends traditional perspectives on teaching and learning. At Babson, we don’t teach entrepreneurship. We teach students to entrepreneur. And it’s our north star to bring our version of entrepreneurship education to the world.”

Babson College has long been a connector and convener of entrepreneurially minded people. Through its external, global entrepreneurship programs, Babson has impacted more than 8,700 educators and students from 1,300+ educational institutions in more than 80 countries.

The Babson Academy, which offers an extensive portfolio of programming to help universities build and grow their own entrepreneurship programs, will extend the College’s reach.

“Through the Babson Academy, participating institutions benefit from all Babson has to offer—from mentorship to unique teaching methodologies, events, networking, and more. Through a hands-on approach, they learn to take immediate action, and accelerate the development of current and future entrepreneurial generations,” Reza said.

Posted in Community

More from Community »

Latest Stories

Yearbook pictures of Bob Lufkin ’75, MBA’76 and Naomi (Shotten) Lufkin ’75
A Half-Century Perspective: A Class of 1975 Alumnus Reflects on Babson's No. 2 Ranking  With The Wall Street Journal again ranking Babson College the No. 2 Best College in America, Bob Lufkin ’75, MBA’76 reflects on how far the College has come.
By
November 7, 2025

Posted in Community

Babson students congregate in Babson Commons
Would You Work 72 Hours a Week? Here’s What Babson Students Say From burnout to ambition, Babson students debate the idea of working 12 hours a day, six days a week taking hold at some tech companies in Silicon Valley.
By
Hillary Chabot
Writer
Hillary Chabot
Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.
November 5, 2025

Posted in Insights

Babson Professor Jeffrey Shay ’87, MBA’91, sits at a table with professors from Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Babson Works with HBCUs to Boost Entrepreneurship Education A case-writing program, which teaches participants how to develop a hallmark of business education, is one of several Babson initiatives with Historically Black Colleges and Universities that aim to empower entrepreneurial leaders and the professors who educate them.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
October 31, 2025

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership