We propose an open education action lab to discuss the development of a new program in entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan that aims to develop a collective community in which students can integrate interests from their personal lives, skills from their coursework, and support from mentors in the field in frameworks that facilitate lifelong curiosity, risk-taking, and meaningful community contributions. Our school sees entrepreneurship as a must-have 21st century skill, characterized by risk-taking, experimentation, learning from failure, challenging oneself, and seeing problems from multiple perspectives. Our program is historically strong at training information professionals who are user-focused and develop programs, services, products, workflows, or information based on context and community realities. Though often associated with startup for-profit companies offering new products and services, entrepreneurship is part of innovation in any endeavor necessary for creating tomorrow’s leaders and change agents in the information professions. We seek to have a discussion with conference participants that examines the following questions: Which elements of open education can be best utilized to scale and facilitate impact within an entrepreneurial program? How do principles of openness align with entrepreneurial endeavors, innovation, and formal education programs? In what ways can we consider engaging and empowering learners to innovate and develop entrepreneurial pursuits that align with open principles across various sectors?
