Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Student Spotlight

Two Tech Teams Chosen for Clean Energy Challenge

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Two teams from Michigan Tech have been chosen to join in the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge. Twenty-seven teams were chosen from 71 teams that applied from across the state. Through the challenge, teams will learn the skills needed to start a successful company, through classroom and hands-on learning.

The teams will also meet regularly with their on-campus mentors and venture capitalists and have access to a micro-grant program offering up to $2,500 for each team to move their business forward.

The Tech teams are GreenedIt!, a web-based application for energy auditing, and Aquaponics, for healthy, local food in urban communities.

GreenedIt! team members are physics students Travis Beaulieu, an undergraduate, and graduate student Abhilash Kantamneni. The team traveled to East Lansing for their initial training this past weekend.

“The training we received through the challenge was incredibly useful,” said Beaulieu. “The whole point was to try and get young entrepreneurs into the mindset of finding a customer need and forming the idea around the customer’s feedback. Thankfully this training worked for our team, and we had a complete pivot during the weekend.”

The other team, Aquaponics, features indoor farming using water instead of soil, with a fish tank providing nutrients to plants. Team members include Robert Handler, post-doctoral environmental engineer in the Sustainable Futures Institute; Josh Krugh, economics undergraduate; and Jacob Bray, chemical engineering undergraduate.

“Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics,” Handler said. “And we want to examine the potential for this type of agriculture to expand as a business opportunity in urban communities throughout the state.”

On the final day of the venture challenge, all participating teams will present their results, and a few teams will be awarded additional prizes and investments totaling $50,000 or more. The six-month challenge is run by the University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship.

Written by Senior Editor Dennis Walikainen of University Marketing and Communications.

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Student Competition: iOMe Challenge

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Calling all students!

Senior lecturer in economics, Emanuel Oliveira, is looking for students this fall to enter the iOMe Challenge. The challenge, started in 2009 discusses how local organizations might engage the so-called Y or Millennial generation to think about their own future, 40 years from now.

The iOMe challenge they designed consists of two components; an essay and a video.

Essay Contest (due October 31, 2012): Write a policy recommendation targeted for the U.S. congress of no more than 10,000 words that addresses the future financial challenges of the Millennial generation and specifically creates incentives and removes barriers associated with low levels of savings and the lack of planning for their retirement.

Video Contest (due November 21, 2012): Produce a short video (60 seconds or less in length) that compellingly illustrates the key elements of the Essay. You might think about the essay as the screenplay and the video as the movie.

Prizes

Winning team: $10,000 + presentation in D.C. to members of Congress (dependent on
availability). Honorable Mention(s): $2,000

Two years ago, students Coleman Segal (Economics major) and Adam Eidelsafy (Software Engineering major) were finalists in the competition. Last year, three of the four MTU teams made it to the final round of judging and one team has received an honorable mention in the competition. The team receiving the honorable mention was awarded $2,000 and was composed of Katie O’Connell (Economics major), Tianlu Shen (Environmental Engineering major), Adam Stigers (Economics major), Teddy Broe (Economics major), and Walker Derby (Finance major). Read the iOMe update from 2011.

Contact Dr. Oliveira (emolivei@mtu.edu) if you are interested in participating this year.

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Savvy Entrepreneur Workshop: Find Your First Customer

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Learn how to close the deal with your first customer at this season’s kickoff of the Savvy Entrepreneur Series, which features interactive web conferencing. This event will start with social networking and refreshments at 5:30 p.m., and then a panel discussion from 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 11, in the conference room of the ATDC.

KTM Industries and Jeff Smith, codirector of the New Economy Division for the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, will lead the discussion.

Learn simple steps and best practices to help gain market traction for your intellectual property or collaborative university intellectual property.

The goal is to share rapid commercialization ideas as entrepreneurs work with a university research partner and learn about research intellectual property and the great base of strategic customers in Michigan.

For more information, contact Assistant Director John Diebel (IIE) at 487-1082 or jfdiebel@mtu.edu .

The event is sponsored by Innovation and Industry Engagement, the School of Business and Economics, SmartZone and the Keweenaw Alliance For Economic Development.

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Study Abroad in Spain? Yes, please!

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Kathryn Danielson (left), 4th year Operations and Systems Management major in her Spain apartment during the summer of 2012.

“I wanted to go abroad because I haven’t completed an internship and I’m entering my senior year at Michigan Tech,” said Operations and Systems Management major Kathryn Danielson. “I wanted something that would look good on my resume.”

With an increasingly tough job market, students are encouraged to take advantage of every opportunity offered to gain an edge on the competition. As a business major understanding the global market can set you apart from other applicants when applying for jobs. Danielson did just that by taking courses in Bilbao, Spain during the summer of 2012.

“I took international management and did a field study in Madrid for a week. My class was even smaller than the classes I have had at Tech and they were very hands-on,” she added. “Our professor took us to a lot of businesses in Spain to see how they managed their business and what daily functions they fulfilled. We also attended an entrepreneurship convention in Spain that provided insight on how people may start businesses in Spain.”

Being from the Upper Peninsula, Kathryn admitted that the best part of her trip was meeting the people from a culture different from her own, shopping in the streets, and attending a rave.  See the youtube clip below from the night she saw popular DJ Steve Aoki perform (watch a video of the Bilboa performance!)!

Given the opportunity, she says she would absolutely study abroad again and might try to make one more trip back to Spain to visit friends who are still there, as well as the locals she befriended while studying.

Earn a Global Business Minor

The School of Business has added a new Global Business Minor for students who are interested in traveling the world and earning college credit! It is available to all Michigan Tech students and can be especially beneficial for students considering the Peace Corps or graduate school after graduation.  For more information, please visit Global Business Minor at Michigan Tech.

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