Experiential Learning Yields Mutual Benefits for Students and Businesses

The objective of EEE420/621 “Corporate Entrepreneurship” is for students to understand the entrepreneurial behavior of corporations. Student teams are assigned to local companies and examine growth, organizational structure, culture, employee compensation, knowledge management and human resource issues. The teams are expected to understand the industry, market and competition by reading reports, conducting interviews and surveying employees to provide concrete suggestions for improvements.

In the six times EEE420/621 has been taught at Whitman, 44 companies and more than 200 students have reaped immeasurable benefits from this experiential learning course open to upperclassmen and graduate students. Steven Pincus ’15 was one of those students. His team was matched with Pioneer Warehousing & Distribution, LLC, a family-owned business headquartered in a suburb of Syracuse.

According to Lisa Conway of Pioneer, it was a valuable exercise for the company. “We had five bright and committed students learn our business, think strategically about what we can do differently and provide a fresh perspective and recommendations for continued success.”

Pincus sees the benefits of this project as significant and long lasting. “It provided a platform to put theory into practice, and I gained a repertoire of skills that I will use well into my career.”