About Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts (DEC)
The Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts (DEC) builds entrepreneurial leaders. We recognize that each entrepreneurial path is unique. We strive to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and skillset among our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and our community, giving them the tools to turn ideas into action to realize their impact.
We do this through our undergraduate academic program built around the popular Entrepreneurship Minor, a full suite of co-curricular programs and activities, and equity-free funding opportunities through competitions, prizes, internships and awards.
Many of these offerings are open to the public, regardless of their Tufts affiliation.
About the Tufts Gordon Institute (TGI)
Derby Entrepreneurship Center is a part of the Tufts Gordon Institute.
Tufts Gordon Institute provides knowledge right when you need it, from workshops to full master’s degree programs, throughout your professional life. Our interactive programs are designed to build your expertise in leadership, innovation, management, and entrepreneurship – all taught by industry-expert faculty with a focus on helping you to discover your purpose.
What We Believe
We believe that anyone can learn to become entrepreneurial. An entrepreneurial mindset and skillset helps people succeed, whether they are a student or a rising professional in a startup, corporation, nonprofit or government setting.
Accessible & Approachable
We are committed to making entrepreneurship education more approachable and accessible:
- We made the ENT minor much more flexible, starting in Fall 2022
- We increased availability to ENT courses and created new exploratory courses to appeal to diverse students
- We offer internship awards to fund students to take summer jobs in new ventures that are not yet able to pay them
- We are partnering with student groups to meet students where their passions and interests lie
Awards
Our efforts to democratize entrepreneurship education at Tufts University was externally recognized in 2022, when we received the prestigious Deshpande Symposium Award for Excellence in Curriculum Innovation at the 11th Deshpande Symposium in Cleveland, Ohio.
The award recognizes an exemplary commitment to, and success in, developing and offering innovative educational courses or programs that foster entrepreneurship education across an institution.
Our Partners
DEC collaborates with Tisch College on a variety of courses, including ENT141 Innovative Social Enterprises, ENT193.02 Paths to Entrepreneurship and ENT193.04 Non-profits, Philanthropy and Impact. DEC and Tisch College jointly offer the Entrepreneurship for Social Impact Minor. Tisch College also generously supports the social impact track for our Tufts $100k New Ventures Competition.
DEC collaborates with the Fletcher School for International Law and Diplomacy to support teams who are working on projects and new ventures in emerging markets, including teams who are applying to the Fletcher D-Prize, a venture competition structured around several poverty challenges with proven solutions. Fletcher school awards up to $20k to help teams pilot their solutions in Africa, Asia, or another developing region.
The Healthcare Track welcomes teams who solve pressing problems in healthcare – including biotech, digital health, healthcare IT and more.
Affiliated Student Clubs
