Hi all,
This is a rather unusual request- but we wonder if anyone is aware of PhD programs in which the outcomes are PhD students starting companies? There is a unique program at University of Agder in Norway through which several former PhD students have returned to their home country (Tanzania) and started businesses on the side, in addition to being full professors at the University of Dar Es Salaam. This activity is actually encouraged because the professors have terrific business knowledge and can really stimulate the local economy by applying it, and professor salaries are low and necessitate a second stream of income. Another unique piece of the model is that the Norwegian professors (and even some other PhD students from the Nordic countries) invest in these Tanzanian businesses which are now performing quite well, and are a truly diverse portfolio: dairy farm, meat processing, waste management, makeup, and steel building construction.
We are curious is anyone else has seen a model where PhD students are creating businesses after their programs?
Kind regards,
Trond Randoy, Neema Mori, Pontus Engstrom, and Siri Terjesen

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Siri Terjesen
American University
(202) 885-1921
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