A degree in engineering is the ideal training for an aspiring entrepreneur, and Ron and Rachel Antevy have established an important new fund created specifically for civil and environmental engineers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering.
“There’s a common misconception that entrepreneurial opportunities can only be found in AI or related areas of technology,” reflected Professor Burçin Becerik-Gerber, chair of the Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). “However, many of the greatest problems facing humanity and our planet are being addressed within the disciplines of civil and environmental engineering, and it’s vital that our students and faculty feel empowered to innovate and transform their ideas into on-the-ground solutions.”
CEE initiatives such as the Innovation in Engineering and Design for Global Crises class (also generously funded by the Antevy family) have set a precedent for the CEE culture of entrepreneurship.
“Having an entrepreneurial mindset doesn’t only relate to starting a new company,” said Becerik-Gerber. “Our students can be social entrepreneurs, solving environmental, social and cultural issues. They can be ‘intrapreneurs’ operating within existing companies to innovate and develop new projects, products or ideas.”
For Becerik-Gerber, that can-do attitude is an ethos she’s determined to recreate for her own students and colleagues.