Category: Competitions

2016 Sam Tidwell Outstanding Man and Woman in Business

Each year the School of Business and Economics recognizes two students who bring honor and pride to the School through high scholastic achievement and involvement. Students eligible for this honor went through an intense interview process that included an essay and interview with faculty.  This year 8 men and 11 women applied.  We are pleased to announce our winners: James Sturos, Accounting and Hailey LaFleur, Marketing and Management!

 

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The Outstanding Man and Woman in Business award is sponsored by Peter Negro of Negro and Associates, CPAs.

MTU’s DECA Soared at State Conference

SGroup DECA 2016tudents from Michigan Tech’s chapter of Distributive Educational Clubs of America (DECA) attended the State Career Development Conference over spring break. The competition has three different types     of events which include case studies, business simulations, and prepared events. The students are given thirty minutes to an hour to prepare the event depending on the type, and then present their findings to judges who grade them based on specific performance indicators. For the business simulations and case studies, no outside materials are allowed. The competition is designed to take the knowledge students learn inside the classroom and apply it to real world problems. The judges are professionals from that specific area meaning that the judge typically works for a firm within that industry and/or holds certifications which makes them competent to judge the event. This year, eleven members from Michigan Tech attended the conference, and nine qualified for the International Career Development Conference. Ken Arndt placed third in the corporate finance event, and Cassandra Barry (pictured below) placed first in the accounting event. In Michigan Tech’s chapter of DECA, placing first in any event had only occurred three times, once when the chapter was established, and twice in 2013.

 

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Project Management Institute Competition

Each year Michigan Tech’s OSM4200 Advanced Project Management course competes in the West Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI) competition in Grand Rapids Michigan. This year’s project plan was based on improving the health of children ages 5-18 years of age in the State of Michigan. Michigan Tech Team B placed 3rd out of 13 teams in THE Project 2016 project management plan competition on Monday, April 11, 2016 held in Grand Rapids, MI.  The team’s mentor was Shawn Rathbun, a Michigan Tech alum. Dr. Dana Johnson, Professor of Supply Chain and Engineering Management was the teams Project Champion and Faculty Advisor.  The team members were:

Erika Tenizbaeva, Undergraduate Student – Management major with concentration in Supply Chain and Operations Management

Kwang Suthijindawong: Undergraduate Student – Management Information Systems and Operations & System Management majors

Syed Awn Muhammad Jafri: Graduate Student in Electrical Engineering

Karan Gujarathi: Graduate Student in Mechanical Engineering

Cody Waffle: Undergraduate Student – Engineering Management

This is the fifth year of the competition. Michigan Tech is the only University to place at least one team in the top four for all five years.  This year’s team was awarded $2,000 to split between the team members.  To learn more about the competition, http://www.mtu.edu/business/more/orgs-activities/the-project/.

– Story by Dr. Dana Johnson

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Two Michigan Tech Teams Win New Venture Competition

Two student teams from Michigan Tech each brought home $10,000 or more in venture funding from the New Venture Competition at Central Michigan University last weekend.

Superior Filament, led by Cedric Kennedy, Aubrey Woern and Jos Krugh, brought home a $10,000 Best Technology Award, as well as another $1,000 for Best Pitch and the $250 Audience Choice Award.

The student-run company is developing filment for 3-D printers from recycled plastics to support growth in the 3-D printing industry while reducing environmental impact.

We Inspire, led by Arick Davis, won the $10,00 Korson Family Highest Growth Potential Award. We Inspire is developing an online system and community to help students make informed career choices by connecting them with profiles and feedback from practicing professionals.

Two other Michigan Tech teams participated in the annual entrepreneurial competition. TRU is developing a big data solution with proprietary algorithms to help performance athletes optimize performance through informed nutritional and dietary supplement choices.

Huskies 4 Hire is connecting students looking for short-term employment opportunities with community members seeking temporary employees.

The Pavlis Honors College helped sponsor the event financially.  The student teams received support from Michigan Tech’s Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship, the School of Business and Economics and the MTEC SMartZone..

Story written by Jenn Donovan in Tech Today – Tuesday, April 12 2016

To read more, check out senior electrical engineering major, Arick Davis’ LinkedIn post.

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THE Project: SBE works to make higher education more affordable in MI

rsz_1the_project_2015_2For the 4th year in a row, Michigan Tech placed second in THE Project’s 2015 competition on April 13. The event was held at the Pinnacle Center in Grand Rapids, MI and included 15 teams from the State of Michigan. The competing students were asked to prepare a variety of deliverables to reduce the cost of higher education in the state of Michigan.

Michigan Tech had 2 teams both receiving recognition and awards. Michigan Tech’s Team A received the highest presentation score in their division. The students of Team A consist of:

  • Helen Richards, majoring in Engineering Management
  • Arissara (Kwang) Suthijindawong, double major in MIS and OSM
  • Cody Waffle, majoring in Engineering Management

Michigan Tech Team B placed second overall and received the highest score in their division. The students of Team B consist of:

  • Taylor Auguston, majoring in Management with a concentration in Supply ChainTHE Project 2015
  • Kareem Fayssa, majoring in Operations Systems and Management
  • Frances Kallio, majoring in Operations Systems and Management
  • Dylan Whittaker, majoring in Operations systems and Management

Both teams worked over the course of the two semesters to prepare for their deliverables and final presentations. With guidance from Dr. Dana Johnson the students all received valuable knowledge and project management skills that can be utilized as they move forward with their careers. Kallio expressed “It was the greatest experience of my college career. Not only did my presentation and public speaking improve, but my team work, leadership and communication skills grew beyond belief.”

Members of both teams improved their understanding of project management concepts along with gaining confidence in their ability to apply them to a real world experience. Fayssa noted that he now intends to pursue a career in project management and will often reflect on his experience with THE Project 2015.

 

This article was written by Frances Kallio.