Make summer matter.
Interested in business?
Want to start a company or become an entrepreneur?
Getting ready for college?
If you’re a rising high school junior or senior with an interest in business, consider the Tar Heel Business Academy. This pre-college academy is an outstanding opportunity for you to develop important critical thinking and leadership skills. You’ll work with your classmates on dynamic projects for a real company and apply goal-setting lessons that will help you plan for the college application process.
You’ll learn important business concepts from world-class professors from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. At the end of the week, you’ll finish with a presentation to your “client” – and receive a Recognition of Achievement and a group photo – and leave the Academy prepared to take the business world by storm!
Program details
Business Essentials Entrepreneurship
Business Essentials * In all weeks, classes end at 2 p.m. on Fridays. Cost: $2,995 includes course fees and lunch/snacks |
Applications for next year’s Academy will open soon.If you’re interested in attending next year (or beyond), complete our contact form. |
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What you’ll learn
At the Tar Heel Business Academy, you’ll explore the business world – and have a fun time doing so!
Knowledge is power.
You’ll be introduced to key business topics through real-world applications, case studies and group projects. This new knowledge will prepare you for a wide range of careers in business and beyond. In addition, throughout the program, your professors will provide guidance on how to use generative AI to amplify your creativity.
Put it into practice.
You’ll work with your classmates and professors to produce and present a project for an entrepreneurial leader from the area. This practical experience will help you succeed in college and later when you enter the professional world.
The soft skills that matter most.
You’ll develop critical teamwork, presentation and networking skills that will make you an impressive leader, further strengthening your resume for college and job applications.
Advice for your future.
You’ll learn more about academic journeys from your teaching assistants, who are students or recent graduates from UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Undergraduate Business Program, and career paths from executive guest speakers and entrepreneurs.
Two course options
Business Essentials: Core Skills for Future Leaders
June 15-19 or June 22-26 in Charlotte, July 13-17 in Chapel Hill
Learn about five important areas of business – strategy, finance, marketing, operations and leadership – while learning how to use AI as a thought partner. Work with cutting-edge tools like ChatGPT, Copilot and data analytics platforms to make smart decisions, create impressive presentations and prepare for college and beyond!
Next Gen Entrepreneurship with AI: Build, Fund and Lead the Future
June 15-19 or June 22-26 in Charlotte
Turn problems into opportunities in this fast-paced bootcamp where you’ll design a new venture and prepare a presentation for feedback from real entrepreneurs and investors. Throughout the week, you’ll use AI as a thought partner to move faster and smarter and you’ll build practical skills in teamwork, problem-solving and communication — skills that matter no matter where your future career takes you!
Program agenda
Each day begins with a look at the day’s agenda.
From Monday to Thursday, you will tackle different business topics with overview discussions, a review of real-world applications and related case studies, team-building exercises, time to work on team projects, coaching sessions with the professors and visits from local entrepreneurs and business leaders.
On Friday, you and your team members will present your projects and receive valuable feedback on your work from your peers, the professors, and your client. Prizes will be awarded for the best ideas and delivery.
Throughout the week, you’ll also explore topics related to collaboration and teamwork and participate in a variety of exercises that will help you put those skills to work!
“The Academy connected us with sharp, motivated students. Their marketing and strategy ideas were practical and inspiring and their insights are helping shape Eden’s real-world rollout.”
Meet the instructors
Paul Friga (Business Essentials)
Professor Paul Friga teaches courses in consulting and strategy. He oversees the curriculum for UNC Kenan-Flagler’s consulting area of emphasis in the Undergraduate Business Program. He has written multiple books on consulting and his work has been published in top journals. Prior to teaching, he worked as a management consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers and McKinsey & Company and consulted for numerous major companies, including Microsoft, Boeing and the U.S. Navy. He is a double Tar Heel with an MBA and PhD from UNC Kenan-Flagler. He graduated magna cum laude with a double degree in management and accounting from Saint Francis University.
> Read Professor Friga’s full bio.
Chip Snively (Business Essentials)
Professor Chip Snively teaches various courses in finance, including investments, corporate finance, and a personal finance class for all students at Carolina. He teaches primarily in the undergraduate program, but also the Master’s programs and UNC Executive Development. Prior to teaching, Professor Snively worked for Intel in various senior management roles, including running manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, China and Puerto Rico and at American Airlines. He received his MBA from Indiana’s Kelley School of Business and an undergraduate degree in finance from the University of Kentucky.
> Read Professor Snively’s full bio.
Markus Saba (Business Essentials)
Professor Markus Saba teaches marketing, including courses in global healthcare and brand management. He is an advisor to the School’s STAR program, which provides students with real-world experience as consultants to major companies, leads the healthcare concentration for the School’s Full-Time MBA Program, and serves as Executive in Residence for the Center for the Business of Health. Prior to teaching, Professor Saba worked for Eli Lilly and Company for 25 years, where he held numerous leadership positions and led the global marketing efforts for the diabetes business unit. He received his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and his undergraduate degree in marketing from Penn State University.
> Read Professor Saba’s full bio.
Karin Cochran (Business Essentials)
Professor Karin Cochran teaches courses in consulting and leads the STAR program, where students consult on projects for real companies around the world. She previously served as chief deputy secretary for the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which oversees agencies that manage the state zoo, state parks and aquariums, as well as many history and art museums and libraries. As a management consultant for Deloitte, Professor Cochran also worked on numerous mergers and acquisitions, healthcare initiatives and significant IT implementation projects. She received her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and her undergraduate degree in Asian studies from Hamilton College.
> Read Professor Cochran’s full bio.
Ted Zoller (Entrepreneurship)
An active practicing entrepreneur, Professor Ted Zoller teaches entrepreneurship and has helped numerous students launch new ventures that they initiated in his classes. He developed the Six M Venture Circuit — meaning, market, model, management, milestones and money. Professor Zoller was the founder of Launch Chapel Hill and has been an active leader in several key programs at Carolina and across the Research Triangle, including Innovate@Carolina and the Startup-UNC venture development program. He received his PhD from UNC Kenan-Flagler, master’s degrees from Syracuse University and the University of Virginia, and an undergraduate degree from the College of William & Mary.
> Read Professor Zoller’s full bio.
Will Cardwell (Entrepreneurship)
Professor Will Cardwell teaches finance and entrepreneurship at UNC Kenan-Flagler and has extensive experience in building innovation ecosystems. Based in Finland since 1996, Professor Cardwell has co-founded major initiatives such as the Aalto University Center for Entrepreneurship and led Finland’s largest technology incubator. He has invested in more than 100 startups across digital health, education and climate. His work bridges education, venture capital and ecosystem development, empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs to create sustainable impact. He has an MBA from the Helsinki School of Economics and an undergraduate degree in math from Davidson College.
Frequently asked questions