CASE STUDY SI&E program survey: Program graduates speak their minds

CASE STUDY

SI&E program survey:

Program graduates speak their minds

The Stanford Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SI&E) program

has been carefully designed to teach burgeoning entrepreneurs
ONLINE and career-driven professionals the various skills needed to
formulate successful business strategies and spur growth and
innovation within their organizations. Each class is led by
Stanford University instructors, and features industry experts,
ensuring learners receive the very best education possible.

Over the years, our formula has proven to be very successful,

but to be sure that the SI&E program continued to meet
learners’ expectations, delivered real value to their professional
development and helped them further pursue their career
goals, we surveyed recent program graduates to get their
thoughts and feedback. Here’s what we learned.

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CASE STUDY SI&E program survey: Program graduates speak their minds

What motivated our learners?

People who enrolled in the SI&E program There were also respondents who wanted
came from various walks of life and to continue their education from a world-
had different career goals. Some were class university without investing the
entrepreneurs who wanted to learn more significant time and money necessary to
about building and launching new business gain an MBA or other post-grad degree.
ventures such as startups. Others were
interested in learning new business skills For more than half of all respondents (54.5
that would help them further their careers percent), the SI&E program was their first
in their respective industries. experience with online coursework.

54.5% of all respondents

said the SI&E program was
I was co-leading an Innovation Center at my company
their first experience with
and wanted the opportunity to pick up new skills from
online coursework.
instructor and peer thought leaders.

I had several motivations for signing up for the certificate

program. The first was for specific knowledge on how to
innovate. The second was for career advancement, and
the third was the alumni network from the program.

I work in a large Fortune 15 company where I see smaller,

more nimble startups disrupt what we do. My goal was to
bring my entrepreneurial knowledge back to my company
to help build a culture of innovation internal to our
product and business development programs so we can
work more efficiently and with greater speed to market.

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CASE STUDY SI&E program survey: Program graduates speak their minds

Did the SI&E program meet

learner expectations?
Across the board, participants who
completed Stanford’s program felt that
it delivered on its promise, exposing
them to new ideas, teaching them
valuable, real-word skills and cultivating
innovative mindsets. The breadth of
subjects covered in the curriculum was
a program highlight cited by several
online course, most believed that the
SI&E program provided a notably better
educational experience. The structure,
content and execution of the curriculum
were all highlighted as program
strengths, along with the knowledgeable
and engaging faculty members.

The SI&E program ranked higher
than average with learners
familiar with online courses.
graduates. Many learners also reported
being able to apply the lessons they
learned through the coursework to their
current professional roles.
Among the roughly 45 percent of learners
who had previously enrolled in an
Every respondent rated their program
experience as either a 4 or a 5 on a
5-point scale, resulting in a 4.77 average
rating. The majority of respondents (77
percent) gave the program the highest
rating possible.

It exceeded my expectations. First, I discovered that

taking courses online is a very efficient way to learn. Then
I must say that the course’s content, the faculty and the
suggested lectures are of high value (this I expected),
and finally I took the valuable courses on leadership and
design thinking that I was not considering initially.
Every respondent rated their
program experience as either a 4 or
a 5 on a 5-point scale, resulting in a
The coursework was outstanding and the professors were
4.77 average rating.
engaging. The material was extremely valuable and
could immediately be applied to my daily work. The case
studies were also very helpful and thought-provoking.

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CASE STUDY SI&E program survey: Program graduates speak their minds

What did our program

graduates learn?
Depending on the goals and career logistics of launching a startup company,
aspirations of the learner, their view while others were more interested in
on which skills and lessons were the day-to-day business skills like the art of
most valuable varied fairly significantly. negotiation and financial modeling.
Many appreciated learning about the
financial modeling

I think the most valuable information that I learned was

how entrepreneurs think, how they scale and how they
inspire their teams to perform at very high levels.

art of negotiation

I learned how to tell the story of innovation in a more

compelling way. Being part of the procurement organization
in my company, I am always challenged with how to show and
articulate ‘value’ that is not directly linked to cost savings.
launching a startup

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CASE STUDY
How has this education impacted
career growth and professional
development?
From starting their own companies and
securing project funding to effectively
managing internal teams and improving
product development, the vast majority
of respondents reported that they’ve
been able to apply the knowledge they
gained in their professional life. In many
cases, participants who completed the
program have used the skills they learned
from the SI&E program on a daily basis,
incorporating those lessons into their
everyday operations.
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SI&E program survey: Program graduates speak their minds
Program graduates stated that they have
been able to distinguish themselves
within their organizations using the
leadership skills and innovation-driving
mindset they cultivated through the
program. Still others noted that earning
a certificate from Stanford University has
been a very valuable resume-builder,
leading to more interest from recruiters
and hiring managers.
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CASE STUDY SI&E program survey: Program graduates speak their minds

Since I graduated from the program, I’ve been

promoted within my firm to a senior leadership role.
I’ve been able to apply the skills that I’ve learned
within my own organization to promote innovative
thinking and develop an environment that’s built on
trust, belonging and purpose. It’s a work in progress
but we are making some headway.

I was able to build the ideology directly into the practice

I run at my company. I created a go-to-market approach
for my products and services that was directly reflective
of the process of customer sentiment, business model
validation, prototyping with customer empathy and
iteration and commercialization strategies.

Having the affiliation with Stanford University along with

the knowledge that I gained has allowed me to provide
much deeper insight into strategy and building our culture.

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CASE STUDY SI&E program survey: Program graduates speak their minds

What advice do program

graduates have for future or
prospective learners?
Many survey respondents urged future
program attendees to take their time with
the coursework and fully absorb each
lesson before moving on to the next class.
Due to the self-paced, online nature of
the curriculum, several graduates noted
that it is tempting to rush through the
material, but that they got more out of the
coursework when they slowed down and
gave each lesson their undivided attention.
Other participants who completed the
program recommended researching each
course to determine which ones best fit
specific career and business goals.

Learn all you can, be prepared to change your thinking

and understand how to apply these concepts to more
than startups because existing companies need these
capabilities as well.

You get as much as you put into the program. The rich
content combined with the additional readings, videos
and networking offer a value. Take advantage of it!

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