Jianwen (Jon) Liao

Notable Quote
“It is good to find a job. It is better to find a nice job. But it is best when you create jobs for others. That is what entrepreneurship is about – job creation and value creation.”

Notable Vignette
It is always exciting and rewarding to see a classroom project eventually evolve into a real business. Two years ago, two of my former students were so convinced and excited about the idea and the business plan they developed in my Entrepreneurship course that they decided to continue work on it and to participate in a national business plan competition. With the help of many other individuals and offices at IIT, they won the Microsoft Emerging Technology Award and successfully launched a biosensor business.

What excites me about Stuart
Stuart is committed to an inter-disciplinary approach to entrepreneurship education. Under this approach, students from various academic backgrounds such as engineering, biomedical, design, and architecture are placed in a project-driven class environment that simulates the very process of venture creation. Students are expected to learn by doing, which is significantly more than just learning to practice. It is a very exciting learning environment.

My Teaching Philosophy
My teaching objective is to help students gain the necessary skills to take control and become active participants in their own learning. I believe that knowledge gained through active participation is knowledge that will stay with an individual. To be most effective as an instructor, one must create an interactive and collaborative learning environment that promotes problem-solving and critical thinking. A welcoming environment accommodates a variety of learning styles and encourages students to present their opinions while respecting the opinions of others.

My Teaching/Research Interests
My primary teaching interest mainly includes Entrepreneurship, Business Policy and Strategy and Management of Technological Innovation and Change. For the last ten years, I have been closely involved in the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics – a longitudinal study of nascent entrepreneurs in the United States. The research project is aimed to explore how various factors at individual, team, strategic and contextual level affect venture formation independently and interdependently.