When most entrepreneurs wake up at night with their latest business or product idea, they would probably jot it down, go back to sleep and wait until the next morning to share it. But thanks to eRes, a new living-learning community at the University of Michigan, entrepreneurial-minded students can always find a sounding board for their ideas – even at 4 a.m.
“The original draw and I think what’s still the draw of the program is the ability to wake up in the middle of the night, have an idea for the next big thing and being able to turn to your roommate in the middle of night and talk to them about it,” says Jonathan Meed, a sophomore engineering student and member of the program’s pilot class this past academic year.
Like other living-learning programs at U-M, students live together in one of the school’s residence halls with the goal of creating a community around shared interests. So far, interest in eRes remains high. This coming academic year, the program will expand to more than 20 students, more than triple its original size.
Greg Merritt, senior associate director of University Housing and the director of residence education, attributes eRes’ popularity to a surge in student interest across the country in living communities that focus on entrepreneurship, sustainability and globalization. Miami University (Ohio), the University of Iowa and Oklahoma State University all offer innovation-focused living-learning communities.
“It’s certainly gaining traction, it’s one of the things that’s interesting lots of institutions,” Merritt says. “We can see the connection between the in and outside the classroom and the integrated learning that takes place.”
Meed, the engineering student, says he realized his initial startup idea wasn’t viable after consulting his fellow eRes members throughout the year. However, living with aspiring entrepreneurs has fired him up, he says.
“I’m reinvigorated if anything to work on something,” Meed says. “It’s kind of the starting point for entrepreneurs and not necessarily the business ideas themselves.”
eRes also differs from U-M’s other living-learning communities in that students plan and run the program.
Last year, the program’s curriculum included a workshop with Doug Neal, the Managing Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship