PHILADELPHIA  Education projects made a strong showing in this years Wharton Business Plan Competition, with two dozen education plans submitted in the Education Track, a special industry track, offered as part of the University of Pennsylvania/Goldman Sachs Foundation Entrepreneurship in Education Program.

International projects took the day, with the Education Track honors being shared by two entries that proposed the establishment of international schools on two different continents. The Ghana-based Tantra Hill International College and Bridge Education International, slated for a 2004 opening in Shanghai, shared the $5,000 purse at the Wharton Business Plan Competition Fifth Annual Venture Fair.

The brainchild of Wharton MBA student Clifford Takyi and brother Michael Takyi WG02, Tantra Hill has already broken ground. An accredited international boarding school, Tantra Hill will prepare Ghanaian and expatriate students for entry into top colleges and universities in Africa, Europe, and the United States.

Bridge Education International, submitted by a team led by Wharton MBA student Richard Peng, will create a chain of K-12 private schools in China. Designed to meet the heightened demand for a high-quality and international education, BEI will target professional families in Shanghai, Beijing, and 17 other cities in the eastern coastal provinces.

Other Education Track entrants proposed a national program linking inner city youth and independent schools; a production firm creating instructional videos about the history of various American cities as narrated by NFL stars; and an architectural design firm specializing in educational facilities.

Directed by Penn GSE Associate Dean Nancy Streim, the Entrepreneurship in Education Program is designed to encourage entrepreneurial initiatives in education. Other projects include the Entrepreneurship in Education Institute, which will be held this summer for the second year running; Penn GSE courses in educational entrepreneurship; and opportunities for Penn GSE and Wharton students to study in both schools.

About The Goldman Sachs Foundation

The Goldman Sachs Foundation is a global philanthropic organization funded by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. The Foundations mission is to promote excellence and innovation in education and to improve the academic performance and lifelong productivity of young people worldwide. It achieves this mission through a combination of strategic partnerships, grants, loans, private sector investments, and the deployment of professional talent from Goldman Sachs. Funded in 1999, the Foundation has awarded grants in excess of $40 million since its inception, providing opportunities for young people in more than 20 countries.