Tag: Pavlis Honors College

Enterprise Turns 20!

Twenty years of computers, robotics, and game development. Of better snowboards, open-source solutions, and nanosatellites. Of clean snowmobiles and cinematography. Twenty years of working with industry, leading and managing teams, persevering through setbacks and challenges, and developing lifelong friendships.

In 1999, it all started with an NSF grant and three pilot teams– Program in Integrated Sustainable Manufacturing (PrISM), Resource Engineering Associates (REA), and Wireless Communication Enterprise. One year later, over 200 students were enrolled in 11 different Enterprise Teams with over 19 majors represented. And now, two decades later, over 900 students enroll in Enterprise each year. Today’s Enterprise students represent 31 different majors from across the University. Nearly 5,000 alumni (and counting!) have chosen the Enterprise pathway at Michigan Tech.

Enterprise is a student-led, multi-year, interdisciplinary program open to first-year through graduate-level students of any major. Each year, the program offers team-based, hands-on, and client-centric project experiences that can only be found at Michigan Tech. All of those projects and innovative ideas are showcased at one year-end event — Design Expo. More than 1000 students in Enterprise and Senior Design teams present their work and compete for awards. A panel of judges, made up of distinguished corporate representatives and Michigan Tech staff and faculty, critique the projects. Many team projects are sponsored by industry, providing students valuable experience addressing industry-relevant challenges and communicating their results to a diverse audience.

Help us take Enterprise into the next 20 years by getting involved! The Enterprise Program encourages alumni, industry partners, and community members to give back through student engagement and project sponsorship. Sponsorship opportunities are flexible and range from unrestricted donations to multi-year partnership agreements. We can work with you to successfully match your project or idea to the appropriate Enterprise team. 

Learn more about sponsoring a project here: www.mtu.edu/enterprise/involved/industry/

Looking for ways to get involved sooner? The Design Expo is in need of individuals to serve as distinguished Design Expo judges. We’re calling all alumni, community members, and industry representatives who are interested in seeing what today’s students are accomplishing. Judging typically takes an hour or less. As a judge, you’ll be paired with 3-6 teams where you will evaluate their poster/presentation design, organization, communication, and final solutions.

Learn more about judging here: www.mtu.edu/enterprise/involved/expo/judges-guests/

We hope you will join us at the Michigan Tech Memorial Union Ballroom on Thursday, April 16, 2020, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. for the 20th annual Design Expo. Whether a judge or simply a guest, your feedback at the event is greatly valued by our student teams and makes a valuable contribution to their education. 

Aerospace Enterprise goes to Small Sat

By Amy Karagiannakis

Student representatives from Michigan Tech’s Aerospace Enterprise recently traveled to Utah to attend the 31st annual Small Satellite Conference. Michigan Tech Aerospace is a collection of research, development, and educational laboratories dedicated to advancing spacecraft technology. The AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites or Small Sat, as it is commonly referred to, is held annually at the Utah State University campus in Logan, Utah. The conference was established in 1987 to provide a forum for people from the military, science, and academic fields to discuss small satellites and advancements in small spacecraft technology. Although there is no standard for what satellite is considered ‘small’, it is generally accepted to include any satellites weighing up to 250 kg or approximately 550 lbs.

IMG-1IMG-5Helayna Barrett, Richard Bennet, Jared Burbey, Joe Chen, Trevor Cretney, Mitch Dzikowicz, Marcello Guadagno, Michael Patrick, Davis Russcher, and Sarah Wade were among the Aerospace Enterprise students that attended the conference August 5th-10th. This group of students borrowed a Tech van to drive across the country 26 hours to Small Sat. They were able to make pit stops at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks along the way.IMG-4

Small Sat is internationally recognized and attracts 800 organizations, 190 commercial exhibits, and students from 24 different universities. While at the conference, Burbey and Guadagno presented to a crowd of approximately 200 students and reviewers from the aerospace industry on one the team’s current missions, Auris Microsatellite. Auris, which is latin for “the ear”, listens to radio frequency emissions from spacecraft in a high orbit and spatially maps the power radiated from these satellites to analyze how it will impact ground receivers. Funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s University Nanosatellite Program, Auris is a small, low-cost technology demonstrator that is designed to monitor and attribute telecommunications signals that may interfere with a congested space environment.

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Small Sat provided an excellent environment for Aerospace students to network with potential vendors and stakeholders from across the industry, as well as some Tech and Enterprise alumni. This year’s keynote speaker was Robert Cardillo, Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Conference attendees were also given the opportunity to tune into talks from U.S. astronauts via a live International Space Station stream. Social events during and after conference hours provided students with numerous opportunities to network with industry professionals and scholars. “It was a reverse career fair for us. Companies at times reached out to us, asking our team members to apply,” shared Marcello Guadagno.

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Overall, students really enjoyed the conference, found it to be a rewarding experience, and worth the long road trip. Dr. Brad King, Aerospace Enterprise Faculty Advisor, plans to send students back to Small Sat next year to reconnect and explore potential new projects for the team.

Add Enterprise and Pavlis to Your Handshake Profile

logoCareer Fair is almost here! Time to update those resumes and practice your introductions. Have you set up your Handshake profile yet? Handshake is a university platform designed to make it easy for students to find and apply for internships and jobs. Handshake also enables employers and recruiters to find the best talent their companies are looking for. The Pavlis Honors College and The Enterprise Program are listed as Organizations/Extracurriculars. If you’d like to learn how to add these to your profile so that employers and recruiters can easily search for you, please read on.

While on your home profile page, click on ‘Add Work Experience’ in the top left of your screen. Scroll down and click on ‘Add An Organization’.

If you are involved in Enterprise, you may add ‘The Enterprise Program at Michigan Tech’ as one of your organizations. Use the ‘Position’ box to state your role or job title, as well as the name of the Enterprise team you are involved in. You may also include a ‘Description’ to explain your role and responsibilities within the team.  Please see the image below. Pic1

Members of the Honors College can also add the Pavlis Honors College as one of their organizations on Handshake. Use the ‘Position’ box to state your pathway. You may use the ‘Description’ box to detail your experiences or accomplishments while in the Honors College. Please see the image below.

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After saving your Organizations/Extracurriculars, your page will look like the screenshot below.

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Handshake also allows you to add social links to your profile. If you are a member of the Pavlis Honors College and would like for recruiters and employers to be able to view your Seelio profile you can link to it from the ‘Social Links’ section in the bottom right corner. Click on ‘Add Your Own’ and enter your Seelio profile URL here. Make sure that your profile is public. Enterprise students may wish to add their Enterprise team website here as well.

Pic4The Handshake Genius Bar will be on campus all this week in room 220E of the Administration and Student Services Building. Stop by to find job postings, learn about events, post your resume, and sign up for one-on-one career advising. Need help setting up your Handshake profile? Stop by Career Services for help.

Rekhi Innovation Challenge Now Open

The Vice President for Research Office and Pavlis Honors College are now accepting projects for the Rekhi Innovation Challenge, a crowdfunding competition whose aim is to promote student innovation and entrepreneurship through the use of Superior Ideas. This year, the Challenge has been opened up to any Enterprise or Senior Design teams whose projects include an innovative approach to an important design challenge or market need.

The competition runs from Nov. 1-Dec. 31 and projects must be submitted by Oct. 21 in order to be considered. To participate, please see the information for teams, advisors, and the application form.

Any questions can be directed to Natasha Chopp at nichopp@mtu.edu.

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Enterprise Pop-Up Workshop: Successful Projects, Satisfied Sponsors

 

Enterprise Pop-Up Workshop: Successful Projects, Satisfied Sponsors

Join us for an interactive workshop where we will share techniques to gain early momentum on projects, make positive first impressions, and develop professional relationships with industry sponsors. For teams seeking industry support, we will share information on Enterprise sponsorship and the resources available through the Pavlis Honors College.
When and Where: This session will be held on Thursday Oct. 1 from 6-7:30 pm in the newly renovated Pavlis Honors College Offices (722 M&M). Pizza and drinks will be provided.
About the Facilitators: Rick Berkey (Director, Enterprise Program) and Joe Thompson (Sponsored Projects Manager) will draw upon nearly 35 years of combined experience working in industry and with Michigan Tech’s Enterprise partners and sponsors.
RSVP is required by Wednesday Sept. 30 at 4pm. Attendance is limited to 30 participants; initial priority will be given to allow at least one student from each Enterprise to participate. A confirmation email will be sent out on Wed. to all participants. Please complete the Google form to register.