Kurt Linberg, new dean of the School of Business and Technology at Duluth's College of St. Scholastica, wants to foster creativity in his students and match them up with entrepreneurial opportunities in the area.

A business veteran himself, with previous experience at Honeywell, Medtronic and Capella University, Linberg wants to focus on creating new jobs in the small business category, says the Duluth News Tribune.

He told the paper:

"We won’t get too many of the big corporations to move here with headquarters. Because of the Internet and the more global economy, there are some really sharp people here to create some small businesses. We need to sponsor and focus on those opportunities."

Asked how creativity can be fostered in the classroom, Linberg said:

"It’s really changing the way we teach students to make sure that we build opportunities for that dialog. Also bringing people from the outside [to] guest lecture and not sticking only to theory. We have the opportunity to have faculty that not only have the academic credential, but they have real professional experience. We don’t have to go after all Ph.D. faculty. It’s not required. What we want is a good blend of people that have real experience in industry and the academic credential.

"When there is a dialog in the class, someone might say, for instance: “You mean that there is nothing in this area to solve this problem?” That faculty member will say, “No.”

"The question is, How can we take that idea and help you advance it?"