The display was the cumulation of Stone-Robinson’s Eagles Entrepreneurship Club, a new initiative led by Gosia Glinska, the associate director of thought leadership at the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and powered by her series of children’s books on the practice of entrepreneurship.
Stokes was approached in March by a couple of innovative students who had creations they wanted to sell on the playground. Simultaneously, Stokes was in discussion with Glinska on the possibility of presenting her picture book series – called “Mia & Tiago” and based upon research conducted by Darden professor Saras Sarasvathy – to the school.
The timing aligned and the Eagles Entrepreneurship Club, a six-week course that teaches students how to think, act and make decisions like expert entrepreneurs, was formed. The club’s ensuing success, combined with the changing nature of the workforce (thanks to the advancement of artificial intelligence), has Stokes convinced that entrepreneurship could one day be part of a school’s curriculum, alongside traditional subjects like math and science.
Young founders at @k12albemarle with Mia & Tiago and the Bird in Hand Principle/Lemonade Principle, donated by @LendingTree. #entrepreneurship #effectuation pic.twitter.com/5fCwcqQuSF
— Gosia Glinska (@KidsLaunch) May 18, 2023
“I don’t know why it isn’t,” she said. “I think if we’ve learned anything from this experience, it absolutely should be. It is not a tricky thing to align with the rest of the curriculum. It’s almost like a direct application of everything that they’ve learned.
“They’re having to use their literacy, their comprehension skills; they’re having to problem-solve ... The list goes on and on. They’re taking everything they’re learning here and applying it to the world.”
A big part of Glinska’s role with the Batten Institute is to take academic research conducted by Darden faculty members and translate it into actionable insights that business leaders can use to be more effective at their jobs.