Bill Aulet

Bill Aulet was named the 2021 USASBE (United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship) Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year. This award recognizes distinguished leadership over a number of years within the field of entrepreneurship education, with winners having contributed substantive advancements to the way in which scholars think about and approach entrepreneurship teaching and learning.

The USABE tweet announcing Aulet’s award included: “He's changing the way entrepreneurship is understood, taught & practiced in the world.” Julienne Shields, USABE CEO, explains that Aulet is “unique … not only a beacon of inspiration for his own students, but also a luminary for his peers teaching and pushing educators to approach their classes and coursework with innovation and passion ... one of the most impactful thought-leaders in entrepreneurship education …”

See the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship (Trust Center) press release for further details about the award and about Aulet’s contributions to the field. Aulet has served as the managing director of the Trust Center since 2010.

Bill Aulet has won the 2019 Outstanding Contributions to Advancing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education Award from the Deshpande Symposium on Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education. Co-founded by the Deshpande Foundation and UMass Lowell, the Deshpande Symposium convenes participants from the worlds of academia, policy, and practice to discuss best practices in integrating entrepreneurship throughout their college and university communities.

The Awards Committee cited Aulet’s “dedication and commitment to fostering entrepreneurship across higher education” not just within MIT “but across the world”; his “fresh thinking”; his having helped launch “multiple programs at MIT including delta v, Beehive, Hacking Medicine, and several courses,” and his having “spread the entrepreneurial spirit internationally” with his “book, videos, and numerous presentations.”