Vincent McDonald, a graduate of the Urban Solutions Lab internship program, giving a talk about networking.
RAISED gets global recognition for the specialty education it offers to entrepreneurs
Rutgers Advanced Institute for the Study of Entrepreneurship and Development (RAISED) received the 2026 Award for Excellence in Specialty Entrepreneurship Education from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers (GCEC).
Among the programs created by RAISED is the Urban Solutions Lab (USL) for student entrepreneurs attending Rutgers University in Newark and RU-Flourishing, a training program for system-impacted early-stage entrepreneurs.
“We are proud of how far RAISED has come and even more excited about where we are headed,” said Jasmine Cordero, associate director of entrepreneurship at Rutgers. “This recognition inspires us to keep building, innovating, and expanding our impact.”
The Urban Solutions Lab, which is described by RAISED as the “pro-social and pro-Newark place of innovation,” connects Rutgers students, staff, and faculty to business, government, and civil society leaders to work on building prosocial ventures.
Students are able to get paid internships through the USL that allow them to work on their business ideas while they’re still in school and graduate college as founders of new ventures.
RU-Flourishing has graduated 50 individuals, giving many of them an opportunity to build their own companies and to be self-employed.
“We are especially proud of the students and entrepreneurs we have the privilege of supporting through our programs,” Cordero said. “Their ambition, ideas, and entrepreneurial journeys are at the heart of everything we do.”
GCEC facilitates collaboration among global entrepreneurship center leaders to advance, strengthen, and celebrate the role universities play in educating future entrepreneurs. More than 400 leaders from universities and colleges around the world participated in the consortium’s 2026 conference in Florida.
Learn more about RAISED. Interested in supporting its work? RAISED has funding opportunities. Find out more by emailing Jasmine Cordero: RAISED@business.rutgers.edu.
-Susan Todd
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