Every year, the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) convenes a vibrant community of educators, researchers, and ecosystem builders who are passionate about advancing entrepreneurship education.
Held this year in Las Vegas, the USASBE Conference and PhD Consortium delivered a dynamic blend of academic rigor, hands-on learning, and collaborative energy. Designed to go beyond traditional paper presentations, the format actively engaged attendees in workshops and deep-dive discussions focused on transforming how entrepreneurship is taught and experienced.
The PhD Consortium was a particularly impactful element of the event. It brought together stakeholders from across the entrepreneurial ecosystem including faculty, journal editors, community leaders, and student support professionals to foster a community of committed entrepreneurship educators and researchers.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) was well represented at the conference, with participation from several alumni and current Ph.D. students. Among them, Vitor Fernandes M. Ferreira, a doctoral student at the Lally School of Management, presented the paper “The Role of Government Grants in Shaping Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: An Analysis of NSF Programs.” His research demonstrated how entrepreneurship ecosystems are influenced by public policy, particularly through government funding mechanisms.
Showcasing this incentivized network Vitor also took part in the PhD Consortium, helping to strengthen RPI’s academic and professional networks across institutions. In collaboration with Lucca T. Santos (Florida Atlantic University), Noah Bellwald (University of St. Gallen), and Shashwatashish Pattnaik (Nord University), he co-developed the research proposal “Power Law Distributions in Education: A Similarity Between Classrooms and Markets.” The study explores how student engagement, often linked to learning outcomes and classroom dynamics and considered central to educational research, can be better understood through behavioral frameworks that emphasize observable actions rather than inferred emotions or cognitive states.
USASBE is more than a conference, it is a call to action. It challenges institutions and individuals to rethink how we define and deliver entrepreneurship education. As we return to our campuses and research environments, the insights and relationships cultivated through the USASBE Conference and PhD Consortium will shape future research streams, teaching innovations, and cross-institutional collaborations.
Author: Vitor Fernandes Marinho Ferreira, Ph.D. Candidate, 5th Year
Lally School of Management, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute