BizWorld - The Organization and Program

The BizWorld Foundation's Mission

BizWorld's mission is to challenge and engage children across the cultural and economic spectrum through experiential learning programs that teach the basics of business, entrepreneurship, and money management and promote teamwork and leadership in the classroom.


Our Story

In 1993, our founder, venture capitalist Tim Draper, was asked by his eight-year-old daughter to describe what he did at work every day. Excited by the opportunity to explain entrepreneurship and business to a third grader, he used his daughter’s enthusiasm for making friendship bracelets to create a simulation activity in which students learn to start and run their own business.

From initial funding to marketing campaigns and financial statements, the program allowed students to not only understand how business works, but enabled them to experience it first-hand. The need and demand for BizWorld’s hands-on, cross-curricular, project-based approach to learning quickly became apparent.

In 1997, the BizWorld Foundation was established to make BizWorld programs available to all educators and effectively involve the community in the education of youth.

Our Reach

The BizWorld programs have reached students in all 50 states and 84 countries. BizWorld established its first international franchise in the Netherlands in 2001. Since then the BizWorld Foundation has grown to include affiliates in India and South Korea.

Programs


The BizWorld Foundation offer hands-on, interdisciplinary curricula that connects classroom learning to the real world by teaching key concepts and vocabulary in a way that is creative, challenging, and engaging to students in grades 3-8. The program offerings, BizWorld and BizWiz teach children about the exciting and pertinent concepts of business, entrepreneurship and money management. Both programs foster responsibility, leadership, problem solving and critical thinking skills through a Math, English Language Arts, S.S. and Economics curriculum in a stimulating, fun environment.


BizWorld

Core Concepts: Business and Entrepreneurship

Program Description: In the BizWorld program, students work in teams to start and run their own businesses in a simulated friendship bracelet industry. Taking on different leadership roles, students learn the basics of business and entrepreneurship as they apply for jobs, design, manufacture, market, and sell their products in the BizWorld marketplace.

Duration : Thirteen 45-minute sessions


BizWiz

Core Concepts: Saving and Investing

Program Description: In BizWiz, students play the roles of analysts, controllers and traders to learn the basics of saving and investing. Working in teams, students set financial goals, analyze forecasts, create a diversified portfolio, track their investments, allocate assets and trade.

Duration: Seven 45-minute sessions

Contact

The BizWorld Foundation
444 De Haro Street, Suite 203
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: 415-503-5880
Fax: 415-863-2072

General Questions/Comments
info@bizworld.org

Read appreciation of the program and initiative in the post
http://edu-research-news.blogspot.com/2008/01/business-and-entrepreneurship-education.html

Bizworld site
http://www.bizworld.org/

BIzworld is supported by Merrill Lynch, Franklin Templeton.

Business and Entrepreneurship Education for 5th Class

Business and Entrepreneurship Education in Primary Schools

Tim Draper – a partner with DFJ, came up with the idea to teach his daughter’s class about entrepreneurship. Later, he founded Bizworld.org, as he realized that most schools do an OK job teaching kids about math and sciences but fall short on teaching the basics of business and entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial skills will become increasingly valuable in the future – particularly as traditional math and science skills become commodities.

In a typical Bizworld class, a class is divided into competing teams – startups - who vie to achieve the highest valuation. Every team has to go through the lifecycle of a startup – including creating a product, raising money, coming up with a marketing campaign and selling the product.

Acording to Antony Awaidal, CEO of StartLeap which helps companies innovate in their sales and marketing and jumpstart their sales, the Bizworld is a great fun for the fifth graders and they also gained great business insights. He points out remark made by his sone in the fifth class regarding a local family theme park – Bonfante Gardens which was largely empty on a Saturday afternoon. His kids are bored and
he asked his younger son: “Don’t you like Bonfante Gardens?” His son concluded: “I like it 10% as much as Great America” – a local cheesy theme park with stomach turning wild rides.

HIs older son the fifth grader - commented: “Perhaps Mr. Bonfante should have attended a BizWorld Class. He would have realized who the customer really is and what they really want. The real customer is us – the kids!”

A key lesson he and his classmates learned powerfully in Bizwold is the importance of understanding who the customer is and focusing on their needs. While many of the bizworld teams focused on creating – what they thought were great products - and sophisticated commercials. The winning team, created simple but colorful products, and their commercial - a raunchy/slapstick commercial - was a great hit with the customers - 2nd graders.

Read about Bizworld the organization and programs in the post
http://edu-research-news.blogspot.com/2008/01/bizworld-organization-and-program.html


Reference
http://nexuspartners.typepad.com/weblog/2006/09/getting_into_th.html

M.A. at IIT Madras

IIT Madras invites applications for Humanities and Social Sciences Entrance Examination (HSEE-2008) for admission to the Five year Integrated Masters Programme leading to M.A degree in either of the three disciplines, viz., Development Studies, Economics and English Studies.

Examination Date and Time : May 18, 2008 (Sunday) – 10.00 to 13.00 hours.
Examination Centres:
Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi

ELIGIBILITY:
1.Candidates who have passed 10+2 or equivalent or appearing in 2008, with a minimum 60% marks in aggregate (55% in case of SC/ST and persons with physical disability (PD) are eligible)
2.Only those candidates who date of birth falls on or after October 1, 1983 are eligible for HSEE 2008. However, in case of SC/ST and PD candidates, the upper age limit is relaxed by five years.

RESERVATION OF SEATS: As per Government of India Norms.

APPLICATION FORM AND INFORMATION BROCHURE

1.Important Dates:
Sale of application material commences on 28-01-2008
Last Date for postal request for application material on 25-02-2008.
Last Date for receipt of completed application form at IIT Madras on 03-03-2008.

2. Cost of Application Material Including Examination fee:
Rs.300 for SC/ST/Female candidates
Rs.600 for all other candidates

3. Application forms can be obtained by post form the JEE Office, IIT Madras 600036 by sending a DD drawn in favour of “Chairman HSEE, IIT Madras” for the cost of application material including examination fee, payable at Chennai along with two self-addressed slips.

4. Application can also be obtained in person at Canara Bank, IIT Madras Branch, IIT Campus by paying cash till 03-03-2008.

For further details visit: http://hsee.iitm.ac.in


For further details:
The Chairman, HSEE
JEE Office, IIT Madras, Chennai - 600 036.
Telephone: 044 - 2257 8220. Fax : 044 - 2257 8224
email: hsee@iitm.ac.in

Objective

To provide informatin regarding education and research opportunities