Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
What is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is like being the architect of your own destiny in the business world. It’s about identifying opportunities, taking calculated risks and bringing innovative ideas to life to turn them into viable ventures. At its core, entrepreneurship is about innovation, resilience and strategic planning.
The Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation helps students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners uncover ideas and discover innovation. We have a variety of entrepreneurial programming to help you advance at any level of your journey.
CEI empowers individuals through accessible, hands-on education, cross-sector collaboration and real-world experiences. We connect the UNC Charlotte community with the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to foster a culture of creativity, opportunity and impact.
What we do
Learning and Skill Development
Empowering the next generation of innovators through targeted programs, workshops, and experiential learning.
Credential Program
Build real-world skills and boost your professional confidence through this short, project-based and skills-focused program. Whether you’re launching a venture or advancing your career, this program equips you to lead with impact.
CO-LAB Ventures
Students compete in an innovative competition designed to foster collaboration between students from two academic colleges at UNC Charlotte, tackling real-world urban development problems.
Truist Immersive Learning
Students attend a two-day innovation challenge where they collaborate to build solutions to present to industry leaders.
49er Foundry
This program supports students at every stage of their entrepreneurial and innovation journey, whether you’re looking to launch your own business or apply entrepreneurial skills to drive innovation companies.
Thought Leadership
Shaping the future of entrepreneurship through research and engagement with regional and global dialogues.
Momentum Charlotte
Interactive customer discovery program designed to help entrepreneurs and business owners gain a deep understanding of their target market.
CEI Classroom Integration
CEI staff and student ambassadors work with faculty to integrate foundational and experiential learning into their current curriculum.
Charlotte Networth Exchange
Charlotte ecosystem leaders host a town hall focused on supporting entrepreneurs, emphasizing collaboration across various industries to help grow and expand businesses.
Cultivating Relationships
Creating networking opportunities for students, faculty, alumni, industry professionals, corporations and community groups.
Deal Me In
Quarterly meet-up for investors, entrepreneurs and community members for a fun, interactive game night.
CO-LAB Navigators
Navigators will complete project-based work supporting startups, CO-LAB members and CO-LAB operations.
CEI Student Ambassadors
CEI’s Student Ambassadors engage the entrepreneurship community at UNC Charlotte through events and campus-wide programming.
Open Pitch Night
Students show up and deliver a 90-second pitch to other students. No need for slides or preparation – just your idea and your passion!