The Rowan Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (RCIE) within the School of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SIE) was proud to celebrate its status as a Knowledge Hub (KHub) of the International Council of Small Businesses (ICSB) with a ribbon cutting ceremony. ICSB President and CEO Ayman El Tarabishy, ICSB Chair Dr. Winslow Sargeant, SIE Founding Head Dr. Eric Liguori and RCIE Assistant Director and Rowan KHub Community Director Jessica Vattima participated in the ceremony which was attended by industry leaders from Germany, South Korea, Switzerland and the U.S.
The RCIE KHub, which first launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, connects the Rowan community to a global network of organizations, universities, research institutions, NGOs and firms that are dedicated to capturing, sharing and exchanging development experiences in order to accelerate the development of and around micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Sargeant said in designating the RCIE an official Knowledge Hub, the ICSB recognized the spirit of innovation that runs through the University’s curricula and campuses. “Henry Rowan had the foresight to say if I’m going to make a gift to this institution it has to be transformational,” he said. “Rowan University is a magnet now around the world.”
Liguori said the University’s cross-campus focus benefits students from all of its colleges, and it’s getting noticed. "As a public institution, Rowan is obligated to teaching for the greater good and that includes our entrepreneurship program,” he said. “It’s gratifying that the ICSB recognizes that in our program and some of its leaders came to celebrate the naming of our center a Knowledge Hub.”
