Entrepreneur in Residence for BLUE - News

The BLUE Residential Learning Program (RLP) provides space and opportunity for innovation, creation, and collaboration. Students get to experiment, meet new people, and master concepts of entrepreneurial mindset through hands-on opportunity. We all need to live and learn with an innovative mindset – join us to begin that journey! This RLP is the residential component of the larger BLUE campus initiative that is available to the Carolina community through a partnership between BeAM, Carolina Housing, and the Entrepreneurship Center for the Kenan-Flagler School of Business.

What we’re about

The mission of this community is to inspire students to shape an innovative and collaborative residential community using physical and virtual tools to engage in self-discovery, build diverse connections, and accelerate ideas to reality.

Students work together to bring their ideas to reality through the network of BeAM makerspaces and the support of partners across campus. BLUE residents receive the space and resources to meet and share ideas, then transform those ideas into tangible goods.

Who can join this RLP

Application to the BLUE RLP is open to undergraduate students of any classification or major who are interested in innovation, sharing ideas, or entrepreneurship.

What our students say

I wanted to be surrounded by other passionate students that are thinking about innovation. I like that I’ve made great friends, the programs are engaging, and the location is perfect. We get to network with interesting interdisciplinary people across campus. The RLP is diverse in interest and majors.
-- Lawton Ives, Statistics and Analytics ‘21

The members of the RLP are able to dictate which workshops they would like to be put on, and what outside speakers/mentors they would like the RLP to bring in. The BLUE RLP has allowed me to pursue my own interests with a group of people that share a similar passion for exploration and creativity to my own, and I would strongly recommend others with such a passion to apply.
-- Ari Singer-Freeman, BSBA ‘21

Experiences we offer

Educational and social programming is powered by a partnership between the Entrepreneurship Center at Kenan-Flagler School and Carolina Housing. Feedback from BLUE students informs programming topics and format. The year culminates in a pitch competition where students work on teams to develop prototypes to pitch to a panel of MBA students and expert judges.

Examples of past events include:

BLUEtank Competition and Celebration – end of year event
BeAM Maker workshops
UNC innovation speakers
Faculty research reverse pitches
Career planning resources
Student + Entrepreneur-in-Residence mentors
Community service offerings
Applied science co-curricular programs
E-Minor creation labs
Launch Chapel Hill acceleration night

Location and size

BLUE houses approximately 40 students in on one floor in the Carmichael Residential Community. Comfortably situated at the heart of the University, Carmichael residents enjoy the convenient commute to classes and sports games while meeting other fellow Tar Heels.