Hawaii Pacific University, or HPU, recently launched its new Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education.
The Center — which is led by economist Gerard Dericks who joined the university's staff last month — will be used to "foster educational leadership through the delivery of economics education and training for students, faculty, and community stakeholders," according to HPU officials. the Center's launch is meant to coincide with Hawaii's Global Entrepreneurship Week, or GEW, which will take place from Nov. 8 to 14, according to previous reporting by Pacific Business News.
A collaborative effort by all four Hawaii counties, GEW will include a series of live online events and workshops geared toward local businesses.
One of the Center’s first activities, the “Teach the Teacher” course, was created to equip Hawaii high school social studies and economics teachers to lead modules in basic economics with free market principles, in order to develop "entrepreneurial mindsets within local young people," according to HPU officials.
The center will also create and manage a speaker series focused on free enterprise and rational economic thought.
“This series will feature nationally and internationally respected scholars presenting on economic topics of interest," said Dericks in a statement. "We will also publish research to address current economic policy issues to inform local, state, and federally elected officials from Hawaii."
Born and raised in Hawaii, before taking on his current role at the helm of HPU's Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Education, Dericks received his Ph.D. in real estate economics from the London School of Economics, where he also taught, and his research has been featured in The Economist, Financial Times, BBC, and CBS, among other publications. He is also founding director of the Hawaii-based academic summer school World Scholars Academy.
“It’s wonderful to be back home in Hawaii after studying and working in the UK for over a decade,” Dericks said in a statement. “My goals for the Center at HPU are to empower Hawaii to build a more robust economic future through broadening and deepening economic education. We will look to help cultivate greater entrepreneurial values in our state.”
