
How to Generate Ideas That Work
Explore award-winning Babson professor Heidi Neck’s research on the IDEATE method, a toolkit to help students grow their opportunity generation skills.
An entrepreneurial mindset doesn’t just require critical thinking skills—it is an outlook that combines the ability to find or create new opportunities with the courage to act on them.
Through the Entrepreneurial Mindset course, students can deepen their innovative and creative thought and action practice with the help of techniques developed by expert faculty members at the No. 1 college for entrepreneurship in the United States. This entrepreneurship course empowers students to navigate uncertainty and ambiguity, while also embracing new ventures that arise under such conditions.
Developing an entrepreneurial mindset requires practice, so this course encourages action, learning, and building in order to begin developing the courage to act on entrepreneurial opportunities in the future.
Explore award-winning Babson professor Heidi Neck’s research on the IDEATE method, a toolkit to help students grow their opportunity generation skills.
This course is designed for bachelor's degree students from all disciplines who want to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and learn how to create and identify new business opportunities.
Upon completion of the program, students will receive a certificate of participation from the Babson Academy.
This interactive online course consists of four collaborative online live sessions, and 4 hours per week of independent assigned work through Babson’s Canvas platform. All live sessions begin at 9 a.m. ET. The sessions in week 1 will be on July 18 and July 22 for 90 minutes each. The sessions in week two will be on July 25 and 29 for 60 minutes each.
This program is led by Eliana Crosina, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Entrepreneurship Division. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master in Business Administration from Babson College, as well as a Master of Science and a Ph.D. in Organization Studies from Boston College. Prior to academia, she worked in the for-profit sector as an investment banker, as well as in the not-for profit sector, managing international development projects.
Crosina's research interests lie at the intersection of identity, entrepreneurial behavior, and cognition. She tackles these issues through largely qualitative methods in two main research streams: (1) examining novel processes of identity; and (2) exploring organizing dynamics in nascent entrepreneurial contexts. Her recent research includes a study of former Lehman Brothers' bankers career experiences after the demise of Lehman Brothers; an ethnography of first time founders in the process of launching their ventures from the same coworking facility; and a longitudinal field study examining the development trajectories of nascent entrepreneurial firms.
Her work has appeared in outlets including the Academy of Management Journal, the Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, and Harvard Business Review. In 2016 her dissertation research was awarded a fellowship from the Kauffman Foundation.
The program fee includes your tuition and program materials. In most cases, meals during the program are included. Some programs include accommodations. Travel and personal expenses are not included (such as alcoholic beverages consumed with meals, telephone, and other incidentals).
Please check the webpage for the program you are attending for information regarding what accommodations are included in your program fee.
For some programs, rooms are at the Babson Executive Conference Center. If accommodations are not available at the Babson Executive Conference Center, a suitable alternative will be provided. For student programs, such as Babson Build, participants will stay in dorms.
*Guests of the Babson Executive Conference Center that wish to arrive before the program begins or extend their stay should email Reservations or call +1-781-239-5816 to check rates and availability. Guests are responsible for the cost of extra nights.
Check-in time: 4 p.m. Check-out time: 11 a.m.
Amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi, fitness center, billiards, campus walking trails, dining room, lounge, and 24-hour access to a beverage break station.
We are happy to help make accommodations for all dietary needs. Our food options allow for most food restrictions. Please let your program manager know if you have specific needs, once you have registered.
Business casual is appropriate for classes and activities at the Babson Executive Conference Center. As classroom temperatures can vary, we suggest layered clothing.
Boston Logan International Airport is the closest airport to Babson College (approximately 15 miles from the center). Travel times can vary based on the time of day.
The best way to get to the conference center/college would be to use a Ride app, arrange for a private car/van service, or take a taxi. There are commuter rail and subway stations nearby as well, but, private transportation between stations and Babson College is required.
Taxis are available at each terminal of Boston Logan International Airport. The cost is approximately $60–$100 USD
per trip, and it will take 30–60 minutes to travel to/from Babson depending on traffic and tolls.
The closest commuter rail stations are Wellesley Hills and Route 128/Westwood. Private transportation is needed between stations and Babson College.
The closest subway station is WOODLAND T on the Green Line. Private transportation is needed between the station and Babson College.
For in-person programs, payment is due in full 60 days prior to the start date of the program.
If you register for a program with an early registration rate, payment is due by the early registration date. Please check the webpage for the program you are attending for the early registration date.
We accept credit card, check, or wire transfer payments.
Payment plan options are available for our in-person courses for individuals. For more details, please email Elizabeth Daniels or call +1-781-239-5333.
Discounts on Babson Academy courses are available for the following:
Please email Elizabeth Daniels for more information and for discount codes before registering. In addition, please note that discounts cannot be combined.
Each program participant receives a certificate of completion. We invite participants to add the program to their LinkedIn profile. Note that a certificate will not be provided if there is insufficient evidence of participation.
We do not offer translation in our programs. Although we do not require the TOEFL, all Babson Academy programs are taught in English, so it is a prerequisite that you speak, read, and write English proficiently.
International travelers will need to obtain a B-1 temporary business travel visa. Once you have registered and paid in full, contact the program manager to provide you with a visa invitation letter.
Registration changes must be requested in writing to Babson Academy.
*Substitutions and transfers are subject to approval to ensure that participants and programs are suitable.