11 January, 2023

The Hincks Centre were delighted to present 'Entrepreneurial Research Application in Society' to visitors from Endicott College, Massachusetts, today.

Endicott is a prestigious college that was founded in 1939 and is based on a picturesque seaside campus on the East Coast. The group included eighteen MBA students and two lecturing staff - Theresa Hanratty and Randall Hopkins. The MBA students are touring Ireland on a 10-day study visit and plan to return to Boston at the weekend.

On November 16th, the 5-year anniversary, Endicott College renewed the Memorandum of Understanding with MTU for a further 5-years. Professor Maggie Cusack, President of MTU, said “this MOU symbolises the close relationship between MTU and Endicott and will benefit our students and staff on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come. It provides the opportunity for students to gain international experience that enhances their academic and personal lives and will help them progress to rewarding careers."

Representing the Hincks Centre, Dr Niall O’Leary, Dr Sarah Davis and Rebecca Robinson presented on the Hincks Centre's projects and how we approach making our work relevant to society. The group convened in the MTU Council Room at 11:00 am with informal networking and a welcome cup of coffee.

Rebecca led the icebreaker where groups of three had to find the most unusual thing that they had in common. The common ground for each group ranged from never having suffered a broken bone, nearly drowning while learning to swim, being born in the same hospital, and having a small tattoo on the inner part of their wrist. After the icebreaker, Niall provided the group with an overview of how the Hincks Centre maps its research work to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and how we focus our research towards generating societal impact. Niall provided an overview of the current and upcoming Hincks Centre projects and a lively question and answer session questioned how we can generate better evidence for how we train entrepreneurs. Finally, with lunch fast approaching, Sarah provided an overview of the Erasmus+ WeRin project and a brief introduction to nudging, based on the WeRin project materials on psychological nudging. Sarah provided an overview of how, why, and where we might develop nudges to change behaviours for women’s entrepreneurship.

The Bistro restaurant on MTU's Bishopstown Campus provided the opportunity for a great dinner and some informal chats with this engaging group.

The group will continue their visit with a tour to Dell Technologies Ireland Limited and have plans to travel to Kilkenny and the Cliffs of Moher before returning home.

We wish the staff and students from Endicott College the very best for the remainder of their stay in Ireland and a ‘slán abhaile’ from all at the Hincks Centre.