Category: Students

Students Find Success in Entrepreneurship Competitions

(Left to right) Students Abigale Hayes and Ambarish Rao with Jon Leinonen

By Jon Leinonen, College of Business

At Michigan Tech, entrepreneurship happens across campus. “Entrepreneurial capacity and success continues to grow at MTU. It’s a great experience for the students,” said Husky Innovate director Jonathan Leinonen, assistant dean and teaching professor in management in the College of Business.

Husky Innovate, a collaboration between the College of Business, Office of Innovation and Commercialization, and Pavlis Honors College, is Michigan Tech’s resource hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. The program works to develop a campus where entrepreneurial spirit thrives throughout the university and across all disciplines. Among other activities, Husky Innovate hosts workshops, competitions, and other entrepreneurship-related activities. View this fall’s schedule of events, which culminates with the Husky Innovate Business Pitch competition on November 20.

Students Win Second Place in Associated Schools of Construction Competition

Michigan Tech students and FHP staff at the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Great Lakes Region Heavy Civil Division Competition this October. Pictured (left to right) are Joe Scarpelli, Executive VP of FHP, Sam Fitzpatrick (civil engineering), Troy Pape (civil engineering), Jack Schall (construction management), Evan Deimling (civil engineering), Caitlyn Schmitt (construction management), Christo Short (construction management), and Mia Dadian, FHP college recruiting manager.

Michigan Tech students won second place in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Great Lakes Region Heavy Civil Division Competition this October. The team competed against Milwaukee School of Engineering.

“We received great feedback from the division sponsor, F.H. Paschen (FHP) Contractors,” says Andrea Andres, professor of practice in civil, environmental, and geospatial engineering. “They were extremely impressed with our team’s final presentation.”

Ola Ayeni Named 2025 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Finalist

Academic Office Building, Michigan Tech College of Business

Michigan Sea Grant has announced that Master of Engineering Management candidate Ola Ayeni has been named a finalist for the 2025 class of the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.

The Knauss program matches graduate students and recent graduates with host agencies in Washington, D.C., such as congressional offices, the National Marine Fisheries Service, or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For one year, fellows work on a range of policy and management projects related to ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources. Fellows can be placed in the federal, legislative or executive branches.

After spending six years as a network infrastructure engineer and another six as an environmentalist and circular economy practitioner in Nigeria, Ayeni wanted to strengthen her skills in sustainability and leadership. This led her to pursue a master’s in engineering management at Michigan Tech — a program where she could combine her technical expertise with managerial insights.

Houghton-based startup wins ‘Most Investable Company’ at Demo Days in Detroit

The start up company Integrated Molecular Innovations (imi) has been awarded the People’s Choice Award and judged the Most Investable Company at a Demo Days competition in Detroit this month.

Owned by Michigan Tech biomedical engineering major Rourke Sylvain, imi is a biosensing venture that empowers individuals to take control of their health through innovative, non-invasive, and continuous monitoring technology.

Sylvain is active in the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO), a student organization supported by the MTU College of Business. In recent CEO-affiliated pitch competitions, including the Rice Business Plan Competition and Central Michigan University’s New Venture Challenge, imi was awarded thousands of dollars.

131 Huskies Honored for Academics by D2 ADA


LEVELAND – A number of College of Business students are among 131 student-athletes that received an Academic Achievement Award from the Division 2 Athletics Directors Association (D2 ADA) for the 2023-24 academic year. The Academic Achievement Awards, in its 17th year, recognizes the academic accomplishments of student-athletes at the NCAA Division II level. The College of Business students are below.

For the second straight year, there were more than 19,000 student-athletes recognized (19,774) from 192 institutions for the 2023-24 Academic Achievement Awards. This year’s total is the highest in the program’s history. In total, 167,396 student-athletes have been recognized since the inception of the awards program.

“The goal of this program since inception has been to showcase the amazing student-athletes, coaches and staff, across our Division II landscape. We are fortunate to recognize such deserving individuals on an annual basis,” said Mike McFarland, director of athletics at Bloomsburg University and current D2 ADA President. “We couldn’t be prouder of the work that these individuals put into their craft. Our industry will be a better place as these student-athletes head out into the real world.”

To qualify for this honor, the following must occur:

  • The Athletic Director MUST BE a CURRENT dues-paying member of the D2 ADA.
  • Student-athletes must have …
    • a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale
    • have attended a minimum of two years (four semesters) of college-level work 
    • have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her last academic year

All Huskies Honored:


About D2 ADA: The D2 ADA is the first organization of its kind to provide educational and networking opportunities; enhancement of acceptable operating standards and ethics; and establishment of the overall prestige and understanding of the profession of Division II athletics directors. For more information about the D2 ADA, please visit www.div2ada.com. The D2 ADA is administered by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), which is in its 59th year. For more information on NACDA and the 18 professional associations that fall under its umbrella, please visit www.nacda.com.