Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Seminars and Events

Upcoming How-to Event: Business Attire

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Image from Tarleton State University

MTU’s Kappa Sigma Iota (KSI) Accounting Club is hosting a professional development event on Wednesday, March 26th from 6:00 – 7:00 pm.  The event will be held in Ballroom B3 of the Memorial Union Building (MUB).

Information will be presented on proper business dress for formal and casual situations, with hands-on training for ironing dress clothes and tying ties.  Irons will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring their own ties, slacks, and/or shirts.

If you have any questions about this event, please contact James Mills at jpmills@mtu.edu.

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Visiting Women & Minority Scholar/Lecturer Series: Mitzi Montoya

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As part of Michigan Tech’s Visiting Women and Minority Scholar/Lecturer Series, SBE welcomes Dr. Mitzi Montoya to campus April 3-4, 2014.  The campus community is invited to attend an open presentation titled, “University as Entrepreneur: The Role of the Institution in Driving Innovation.”

Join us for the lecture on Wednesday, April 3, 2014 at 2:00 pm in EERC 100!

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MTU Team Makes Final Cut of MCIP

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The Michigan Collegiate Innovation Prize is a six month program that enables teams to go from an idea to venture launch.

A new statewide entrepreneurial contest aims to arm students with the resources and skills necessary to launch a successful tech start-up in the state of Michigan. In addition to more than $100,000 in award money, the Michigan Collegiate Innovation Prize (MCIP) offered participants intensive start-up training based on the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program.

Michigan Tech fielded a team out of a project for the Business Development Experience course — one of four required for the Entrepreneurship Concentration.

"Our low cost ventilator which encompasses a robust and simple design, is used to provide life saving care for infants suffering from respiratory ailments in developing countries," said Smith.

The Michigan Tech students who participated were:

  • Cole Smith, Management major
  • Brock Treankler, Management major
  • Colin Putters, Marketing major
  • Carolynn Magnuson, Marketing major
  • Derek Mazur, Biomedical Engineering major

The challenge kicked off in late October with a two-day workshop and culminated in February with a final showcase and awards ceremony. During the intervening four months, participants attended biweekly online progress meetings and received pitch training, mentorship and up to $2,000 in prototype funding. Teams were encouraged to brainstorm and innovate on their business model and position in the market.

90 teams participated in the first round and 29 made it on to the finals. Applicants were evaluated based on:

  • The viability and impact of their technology
  • How their business differentiates itself in the marketplace
  • The skill and experience level of the team members.

The Michigan Tech Team mentored by Professor Entrepreneurship and Innovation Dr. Saurav Pathak, Instructor Jonathan Leinonen, and Senior Lecturer in Accounting Anne Warrington was one of the teams selected to advance to the finals. Their project was to develop a low cost ventilator for infants in Ghana. This is an International Business Venture project out of the Enterprise program. The Michigan Tech team went on to win a $2,000 grant to further develop their product.

Event coordinators say the statewide venture challenge will help both the state and its students by keeping Michigan relevant in the knowledge economy and creating different career paths for college graduates.

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