Miami, Oct. 11, 2021 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) North Campus has been awarded a grant for nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) for MDC’s Miguel B. Fernandez Family School of Global Business, Trade and Transportation. The funds will be used to support projects that teach undergraduate minority students how to develop businesses and commercialize products and services in the domestic and global marketplace. Campus administration will discuss how the grant will be used for the creation of the Business Entrepreneurship Development project during the Hablemos de Negocios (Let’s Talk Business) seminar at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 12.
“As the nation’s largest open-access college, MDC continues to find innovative ways to expand opportunities for its students to earn practical credentials to impact the local and global marketplace immediately,” said Fermin Vazquez, North Campus Interim President. “Providing financial support and guidance from business owners and entrepreneurs will play a critical role in breaking barriers to degree completion and accelerate the transition into the workforce.”
The three-year Business Entrepreneurship Development project targets minority students at the Hialeah, North, West, and Wolfson Campuses. The grant will be used for student incentives, such as tuition and fees towards a 12-credit College Credit Certificate Business Entrepreneurship Specialist: Start-Up Venture, and micro-credentials, such as Hootsuite Platform and Hootsuite Social Marketing certifications. Students will participate in seminars, entrepreneur-led classroom presentations, group mentoring sessions, one-on-one entrepreneur-business counseling sessions, business headquarters tours, business plan competitions, and more. In addition, MDC faculty will benefit from professional development workshops.
MDC serves a large population of low-income, minority students. This program can create opportunities for students to earn academic degrees while working in partnership with a dynamic, multicultural community of local entrepreneurs and small business owners to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in today’s highly competitive business workforce.
For more information, please contact Theodora Laing, tlaing@mdc.edu