First Stanford Ignite Innovation Program to Launch in Brazil

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The Stanford Graduate School of Business will offer its Stanford Ignite program in innovation and entrepreneurship for the first time in Brazil in August, 2015.

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Stanford Ignite-São Paulo will provide exposure to both the fundamentals of business and the practical aspects of identifying, evaluating, and moving business ideas forward. It is designed to deliver the same kind of immersive, innovative, and hands-on instruction that working professionals and graduate students at Stanford experience — in a South American dimension. The course content will teach innovators how to formulate, evaluate, develop, and commercialize their ideas.

Stanford GSB is working with Microsoft-Brazil, which will host the program at their facility near the World Trade Center in central São Paulo. Stanford GSB faculty will deliver course curricula through a combination of in-person class sessions in São Paulo, and faculty who are beamed in from Stanford through state-of-the-art, high-definition distance learning technology. An information session will be held in São Paulo March 17. The application deadline is April 15.

Participants, who are expected to have strong scientific or technological backgrounds with significant innovation and leadership potential, will learn core business skills and experience working in a team to develop ideas into a business plan. “The program is aimed at individuals who wish to bring innovation and entrepreneurial thinking to their current role, and for those who are planning to start a new venture,” said Stanford Ignite Faculty Director and Professor of Economics Yossi Feinberg. “It provides graduate students, innovators, scientists, and engineers the essential toolset for creating impactful ventures.”

The program will draw on the same world-class business faculty who teach in Stanford’s MBA Program, which is infused with the culture and practice of innovation that pervades Stanford University and Silicon Valley. Microsoft-Brazil will enrich the program by working with Stanford to bring leading Latin American executives, investors, legal experts, and other practitioners to the program as guest speakers and mentors to provide practical feedback on team projects.

The certificate program will run between August 14 and October 18. Participants will meet for seven weekends on Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays. No classes will be held on holiday weekends.

The program will provide approximately 100 hours of instruction, including class lectures, coaching sessions, advising sessions with the faculty director and panels. In addition, the program requires about 100 to 150 hours of preparation for class sessions and teamwork on venture projects. Upon successful completion participants will receive a Stanford Ignite certificate and become a part of the Stanford Ignite global network.

Intended for STEM professionals who do not have graduate business training, applicants must be currently enrolled students in a master’s, Ph.D., M.D., or post-doctoral program studying nonbusiness fields; or must be working professionals with a minimum of a bachelor’s (B.A. or B.S.) degree from a regionally accredited institution. Advanced degrees are preferred. The program will be conducted in English.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit all materials as soon as possible. A complete application will contain a completed online application, a resume, three short essays, and two recommendations. Tuition is US$10,000.

The Stanford Ignite-São Paulo program is the seventh in a series of part-time Stanford Ignite programs to be offered in innovation hubs around the globe – to enable audiences outside of Silicon Valley to tap into Stanford’s distinctive approach to teaching entrepreneurship and management. The first part-time Ignite program was introduced at Stanford in 2006. The program is now offered in Bangalore, London, Beijing, New York, Santiago, and São Paulo, as well at Stanford.