Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Students

Tech Students Collaborate Innovatively

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Michigan Tech’s campus is abuzz with activities leading up to technological innovations and ground-breaking advancements in various fields of engineering. While they may be successful as technologies, do they have the potential to offer opportunities for creating new businesses around them? Our senior year students provide the answer by undertaking the Business Development Experience courses (BUS 4991 and BUS 4992).

Business DevelopmentOffered as a two-course sequence – BUS 4991 in the fall and BUS 4992 in the spring – the Business Development Experience provides students with the perfect entrepreneurial learning experience and the opportunity to work alongside Tech’s engineering students, real-world innovators and entrepreneurs. Students assume entrepreneurial roles and work in teams on projects offered by the Enterprise program, Senior Design, MTEC SmartZone and the Innovation & Industry Engagement (IIE) office housed in the Advanced Technology Development Complex. The course provides an opportunity to integrate these entities into a sustainable entrepreneurial eco-system.

These two courses are taught by Dr. Saurav Pathak, who holds the title of ‘Rick and Jo Berquist Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ within the School of Business and Economics. This year, he has secured six projects for his Business Development Experience course for students to tackle. The majority of the projects for this academic year are sourced from entrepreneurs local to the Upper Peninsula. Among the projects supporting Tech’s surrounding community include a novel clothing protector for traveling professionals, a gravity-enabled wood pellet de-duster, and a patented new masonry brick-laying technology.

Another locally sourced project is brought to Business Development Experience students by Michigan Tech SBE instructor, Jonathan Leinonen. He will be mentoring students and requesting that they offer a fully developed online game related to and of interest to the Michigan Tech student and alumni body.

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Graphene, a highly conductive and extremely strong transmittable metal

The course would also involve students finding a “route-to-market” for two patented technologies – offered as projects by the IIE office. Students would find ways to commercialize a new way of processing “red mud” – a toxic waste produced during the extraction of Aluminum from Bauxite – with hydrophobic polymers into useful items such as cat litter. The other project’s goal would be to identify the potential partnerships, applications, and competitive landscape of Graphene, a highly conductive and extremely strong transmittable metal. Graphene is thought to be the future technology for capacitors.

Throughout the process, students will gain skills from establishing a target market, conducting customer discovery, developing a business model, pricing framework, developing a financial strategy, proposing a prototype, and potentially deploying a commercial version of each product. Over the last three academic years (2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14), more than 60 students have undergone this entrepreneurial learning experience working across 18 technology-based projects provided by our partners. The academic year of 2014-15 will see 23 additional students undergoing this experience working over 6 projects.

In the past, project owners have made generous donations to show their support for our students’ efforts. This year, the Dean’s office has offered funding that would be used to enhance the student learning experience by letting them go outside the classroom and achieve tasks that are essential of any business development. Dr. Pathak’s vision for the coming years is to make this course a revenue generator for the SBE wherein only sponsored/funded projects would be considered.

Carly Harrington, Academic Advisor for the School of Business and Economics, explains the importance of the Business Development Experience in these projects,

With our senior-level Business Development Experience, students have the opportunity to handle financial planning, marketing plans, and business management for real-world research projects and engineering design teams. This opportunity allows for cross-disciplinary collaboration building teamwork skills and strengthening student’s resumes.

Current Michigan Tech students interested in enrolling in the Business Development Experience should contact Carly Harrington (benson@mtu.edu) to discuss their course schedule. Prospective Tech students with questions about the Business Development Experience should contact business@mtu.edu.

 

This article was written with contributions from Dr. Saurav Pathak.

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2nd Place Win at Design Expo

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A team from the Business Development Experience Course (BUS 4992) tied for second place in the category of Design Expo Image Contest, in 2014’s Design Expo.  This accomplishment is particularly impressive, as over 600 Michigan Tech students across all disciplines competed in this year’s hands-on, discovery-based learning program, hosted by the Institute for Leadership and Innovation and the College of Engineering.

The team, titled “Balise and RFID Use in Rail Systems,” consisted of members Frank Kampe (’14, BS in Marketing), Min Li (’14, BS in Operations and Systems Management), Daniel Holmberg (’14, BS in Management), and Kevin Heras (projected graduation: Fall 2014, majoring in Management).  In order to participate in the Design Expo, team members took the Business Development Experience two-course sequence, where business school students ascertain the commercial viability of potential projects.  Since the implementation of the courses, business school students have been teaming up with the Enterprise and Senior design project teams to look at their technologies from a business perspective.

Team Advisor and Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Saurav Pathak, was pleased with his students and the work they conducted.  “This group in particular made valuable recommendations to Technical Expert Network (TEN) on how to expand the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies in the US rail industry,” Pathak remarked.  He added, “The fact that business school students were placed as award winners in an event that predominantly highlights the technological feats at Michigan Tech is proof that there is value in ascertaining the business prospects of these technologies.”

Congratulations to the team on their award!

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Littlest “Graduate” Celebrates Her Parents’ Commencement

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August and Elizabeth Skultety [weren’t] the only ones in their family wearing caps and gowns at  Michigan Technological University’s 2014 Spring Commencement Saturday.  Their 3-year-old daughter, Charlotte, [was] right there with them in a miniature cap and gown in honor of her parents’ graduation from Michigan Tech.

“All of college has been a family experience for us,” said Elizabeth, who is receiving her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, “so it feels like she is graduating too. She has put up with all of our studying and other commitments.”

August is receiving a Bachelor of Science in Management with a concentration in supply chain and operations management. Yoopers born and raised—August from Gladstone and Elizabeth from Escanaba—the Skultetys will be moving to Midland, Mich., to start jobs at Dow Chemical.  August will be a supply chain analyst for Dow, and Elizabeth will be a production engineer with Dow AgroSciences.

Both Skultetys have fond memories of their days at Michigan Tech. Elizabeth found the chemical engineering department very hands on and the professors very personable. She is especially grateful for the mentorship of Professor Julia King , under whom she conducted research. King not only helped Elizabeth with her studies, she helped the family find day care for Charlotte when they found themselves struggling with that.

Elizabeth was also very involved in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and is currently the president of the Michigan Tech chapter.

August said he enjoyed working with the School of Business and Economics. He had special praise for Professor Dana Johnson, who he said was very helpful throughout his Tech experience.

Houghton also proved the perfect place to pursue some of their favorite activities; hiking, camping and playing in the snow.

The couple chose to work with Dow Chemical after positive experiences as interns there. “We both chose Dow because we really liked the company as a whole,” said Elizabeth. “They are a family oriented company, and we like the Midland community for that as well.”

The Skultetys are looking forward to the next chapter of their lives, at Dow. “We were able to both get internships, and I was able to go to a career fair after my sophomore year and immediately get a great internship with Dow,” said Elizabeth. “I was really happy that the job opportunities were so good.”

August called Dow “our first choice, so it [the career fair] enabled us to get positions with our first-choice company,” said August. “We both got hired in August, so we haven’t had to worry all year.”

Though the Skultetys are leaving, they have a bit of advice for the students who come after them: time management and a stable support system are the keys to success at Michigan Tech.

Although the family enjoyed their time in Houghton, they are ready to start the next part of their journey. “It is a relief [to graduate]. We are ready to move on and start the next chapter in our lives,” said Elizabeth. “We are closing on a house this summer in Midland. We are ready to settle down in a community and get some roots.”

As for the littlest cap-and-gown wearer, Charlotte is just a little sad to have to cover up the sparkly new dress she got for the occasion. She’ll get to show off a little bit of sparkle, though, with the sparkly white shoes she got to complete her ensemble.

Michigan Technological University (www.mtu.edu) is a leading public research university developing new technologies and preparing students to create the future for a prosperous and sustainable world. Michigan Tech offers more than 130 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering; forest resources; computing; technology; business; economics; natural, physical and environmental sciences; arts; humanities; and social sciences.

*This article was written by Erika Vichcales for Michigan Tech News, and was re-posted with the author’s permission.  Please click here to see the original posting.

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Marketing Student Shines at 2014 UPISRC

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MTU and NMU combine for the 2014 UPISRC to showcase undergraduate student research.

The 2014 Upper Peninsula Interdisciplinary Student Research Conference (UPISRC) was organized to showcase and publicize the research being done by local students in human and behavioral sciences. This event was developed to organize a conference involving student research in: psychology, human factors, education, human effectiveness, human-centered design, social science, kinesiology, and other related fields. This year 30 students submitted abstracts, and many of the authors presented on their research at the conference for the first time. Presenters came from several departments across both MTU and NMU.

Each student gave an oral presentation for fifteen minutes in addition to a poster presentation on their research topic. The School of Business and Economics had one student participate in the UPISRC. Haley Florinki is a senior Marketing major and she presented on Assessing the Effect of a Salesperson’s Customer Service Duration Up-selling and Cross-Selling.

The abstract for her research is presented below:

The purpose of this research project is to empirically test how a salesperson’s time spent with the customers impact on their purchasing decision. More specifically this project focuses on the duration of a salesperson’s customer service and its effects on up-selling and cross-selling. Up-selling takes place when a salesperson attempts to sell a similar but better quality product than the first product exposed to a customer. Cross-selling happens when complimentary products adding to the main product that customer initially looks for creates extra customer value. Regarding the research method, this project used observation research to capture important independent variables (Time spent with customers, and product display method) and dependent variables (Whether or not the sale was made, and sales results – up selling & cross-selling). Responses from shoppers in a large local mall were recorded into the IBM-SPSS software. The questionnaire was designed for the associate to be able to interact with a customer and complete the questionnaire afterwards. The expected outcome was that the amount of time spent with a customer would increase the likelihood of up-selling and/or cross-selling. The results from the Chi-square test greatly supported the evidence that the time spent with the salesperson had a positive impact on sales. I specifically found that while a salesperson’s short time spent with customer (less than 30 sec) increased the likelihood of up-selling, her long time spent with customers (more than 90 sec) promoted that of cross-selling.

This event was sponsored by the MTU Human Factors Student Chapter and the MTU Department of Psychology.

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The 2014 Outstanding Man & Woman in Business

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Every year, the School of Business and Economics’ scholarship selection committee has the difficult task of choosing one male and one female student to be the Sam Tidwell Outstanding Man and Woman in Business.  For 2014, it came down to Judy Isaacson as the Outstanding Woman in Business, and Cole Smith as the Outstanding Man in Business.

Judy Isaacson and Cole Smith proudly display their plaques with Dean Eugene Klippel

The Sam Tidwell Outstanding Man and Woman in  Business awards are given annually to two current students who embody the mission of the School of Business and Economics.  Selection for these titles is never easy, and 2014 proved to be particularly difficult.  The selection committee, comprised of professors Anne Warrington, Mari Buche, Paul Nelson, and Michele Loughead, along with Academic Advisor Carly Harrington and student Nathan Sturos (2013 Outstanding Man in Business), received numerous high-quality applications.  The application process itself was very rigorous, with required essays and interviews.  Choosing the recipients is the scholarship committee’s way of recognizing these students for their dedication to academics, their leadership and extracurricular involvement within the Michigan Tech community, and their tireless commitment to the world of business.   Dean Eugene Klippel praised the decision of the scholarship committee, stating, “While both [Cole and Judy] have excellent academic records, distinction lies in their willingness to assume leadership roles on campus, as well as engage in the experiential opportunities provided by the School’s many programs.”

Judy Isaacson, 2014 Outstanding Woman in Business, poses with Dean Eugene Klippel

Judy Isaacson, the 2014 Outstanding Woman in Business, hails from here in Houghton.  As an Accounting major with a minor in Global Business, she plans to graduate in December 2014.  Judy stays busy on campus through her active role in the Applied Portfolio Management Program and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.  After studying abroad in Spring 2013 and working as a teaching assistant over the summer, Judy currently interns at the Superior National Bank and Trust in Hancock.  These collective experiences will undoubtedly give her an edge toward her future career goals, which includes becoming an internal auditor focusing on the field of fraud.  Grateful for the opportunities she has been afforded, Judy remarks, “The School of Business and Economics has shaped me into a professional businesswoman, prepared me for leadership roles and has given me confidence in my abilities.”

Cole Smith accepts his award from Dean Eugene Klippel for 2014 Outstanding Man in Business

Cole Smith, the 2014 Outstanding Man in Business, also plans to graduate in December 2014 with his Bachelor of Science degree in Management, and has been on the Dean’s List for the majority of his academic career.  He has exemplified a strong involvement within the Kappa Sigma Iota Accounting Club, where he holds the office of Vice President of Operations.  Building his resume is very important to Cole, and he has held employment with DTE Energy, Hanley Excavating, Bob’s Custom Carpentry, Specialty Granules, Inc., and KC Docks.  Cole, originally from Iron Mountain, Michigan, is appreciative of the fact that he was able to be so involved within Tech’s SBE.  He stated, “It’s truly rewarding to have received this award.  The faculty has been very supportive in and outside of class, which put me in a viable position to be a candidate for this award.  It’s an honor and a great compliment to be recognized from the School of Business and Economics.”

Everyone within the School of Business and Economics could not be more proud of our 2014 Sam Tidwell Outstanding Man and Woman in Business.  Congratulations, Cole and Judy!

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