NCSSM students have participated in a number of different programs exploring entrepreneurship in the last several years. The Colopy Entrepreneurship Program seeks to build upon those past student experiences. (photo: NCSSM Communications)
Since NCSSM’s founding more than four decades ago, curiosity and creativity have underpinned a spirit of entrepreneurial discovery that has marked the school as among the very best public high schools in the country. From our students’ minds have emerged a wide range of innovations that have gone on to demonstrably enhance people’s lives the world over and seed companies valued in the millions and billions.
Some of these innovations first originated in formal classroom settings as vaguely formed ideas; some developed out of credit-bearing research projects. Other ideas arrived as epiphanies during late-night, soda-and-pizza-fueled conversations between roommates. Whether by formal processes or more organic occurrences, these flashes of brilliance have always lit NCSSM from within.
NCSSM is now gearing up to help students amplify and direct that energy into viable business ventures through one of its newest programs: the Colopy Entrepreneurship Program. Launching as a pilot later this fall, the program is a collaboration between NCSSM’s administration, faculty, and a Durham entrepreneur and generous friend of the school named Joe Colopy who, along with his wife, Karalyn, have invested in the future of NCSSM and its students by creating the Colopy Family Endowment for Technology Entrepreneurship.
“Most entrepreneurship programs at the high school level, for those few schools who do have a formal program, consist mostly of local business owners coming in to speak with students about running a business,” says Chip Bobbert, whom NCSSM recently hired to direct and build out the Colopy Entrepreneurship Program. “Our chancellor, Dr. Todd Roberts, has tasked us with creating a cutting-edge program that goes well beyond that. With this program, we’ll certainly be bringing in guest speakers who’ve proven themselves as successful entrepreneurs, but we’ll be expanding upon that access by getting students deeper involved in the program through some ‘classic’ instruction in theory as well as hands-on, practical experience in moving an idea to market.”
Bobbert has the chops to help create such experiences for students. He has an extensive resume filled with 20 years of engagement with private and public entities in technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and has also been a successful business owner himself. He came to NCSSM from Duke University, where he spent a decade as a senior technologist and Innovation Architect, building one of the largest and most recognized programs of its kind in higher education where it earned a listing among the Top 50 by Newsweek.
The Colopy Entrepreneurship Program Bobbert is leading will center around an extensive list of short, one-hour mini-courses offered once each semester as part of the curriculum of other NCSSM courses. For example, students in a computer science course who have created a unique app for smartphones will get the opportunity through a mini-course to learn how they might take that app from a classroom project to beta testing funded through private investors. Students in a chemistry or biology course who have created a novel approach to cancer screening may learn through a mini-course how to turn that project into a start-up biotech firm.
Approaching entrepreneurship in such an interdisciplinary way, says Bobbert, makes the entire process more real and practical. “If, in the middle of working on the science or engineering behind an idea, a student gets some training in how to take that idea and turn it into something that will benefit humanity, then hopefully they will see that all their work isn’t just some intellectual exercise that terminates with a letter grade.”
As the program builds, Bobbert anticipates adding a microgrants program where students with novel ideas can apply for funding to expand upon their innovation; a certificate program where students will receive digital badges for their microlearning efforts; and an Entrepreneur in Residence who can potentially assist with teaching loads.
Also being considered is the creation of a dedicated space for students to work individually and/or collaborate on ideas. Tentatively called an entrepreneurs lounge, the space would also serve as a lecture spot where program staff can work with students roundtable style. Underpinning the creation of this brick-and-mortar space will be the successful identification of a funding stream.
“We’re very excited about the Colopy Entrepreneurship Program,” says Chancellor Roberts. “We are so fortunate at NCSSM that we have access to amazing research institutions and a community of incredible innovators and entrepreneurs, both in Durham and Morganton and really across our state. The Colopy family through this program is making it possible for the talented students we serve to be able to engage with entrepreneurs and learn entrepreneurial thinking that is so important regardless of the future careers they choose. I can’t wait to see how the opportunities provided through this program will encourage and help prepare our students to be the next generation of innovators and leaders in North Carolina and beyond.”
As a long-time resident of Durham and its tech scene, program founder Joe Colopy had been aware of NCSSM for quite a while. When technology is your scene in the Triangle, he says, it was hard to not to know about the school.
“Through the years I’ve talked to a lot of people in the tech and entrepreneurial world, and I noticed a lot of those people often had the North Carolina School of Science and Math in their background,” he says. “And when I asked them about the school, almost always they said it was such an impactful place for them.”
Colopy’s oldest daughter graduated from NCSSM in 2020. Her experience as a student, and his as an NCSSM parent, enhanced his understanding of just how special NCSSM is.
“That prompted me to kind of look into the school a little bit more,” he says, “and the more I dug, the more impressive it became. I’m committed to tech and entrepreneurship. As I was a teacher early in my career, I know how important good schools and good programs are. NCSSM is the intersection of all those things.”
Thus, the Colopy Entrepreneurship Program. He hopes the program helps instill in students an entrepreneurial mindset that will have lasting and positive impacts on their careers and the communities and regions from which they hail.
“The School of Science and Math is a very special place not only because it attracts very talented students, but also because these students are willing to leave the comforts of home at an early age to follow their heart and try something new,” he says. “Those attributes are exactly what makes for great entrepreneurs. It’s not just about being talented; it’s also about having a willingness to leap into the unknown because of a vision to better themselves and the world around them. This is something that my family and I want to support.”
