On October 20, 2021, 20 Huskies pitched their innovative concepts to a panel of judges and audience members. Congratulations to the 2021 Michigan Technological University Idea Pitch Competition contestants and winners!
First ($200)—Nicholas Peterson with NOMAD
Second ($100)—Ella Faulk (math w/business analytics, and business and Spanish minors) with Parkinson’s Symptom Monitoring App 
Third ($50)—Nathan Vogler (engineering management) with Dorm Racks
Honorable mention ($25)—Mary Stevens (marketing) with HuskyBox
Honorable mention ($25)—Isaac Swanson (general business) with Snowmobile Guiding Service 
Audience favorite ($25)—Mary Stevens (marketing) with HuskyBox
Social impact award ($100) presented by Elham Asgari (College of Business Gates Professor)—Ella Faulk (math w/business analytics, and business and Spanish minors) with Parkinson’s Symptom Monitoring App
The Idea Pitch Competition is part of Husky Innovate, a series of experiences and opportunities that guide students through phases of business development while emphasizing success strategies. Up next is the Bob Mark Business Model Competition, to be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, January 27, 2022. The legacy event celebrates the Husky entrepreneurial spirit while paying tribute to the late College of Business Professor of Practice, Bob Mark. Contestants will pitch key components of their business model, including value proposition, customer segment, and product market fit. Registration is open. 
About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.
The Michigan Tech College of Business (COB) welcomed Paul Stinson on September 28, 2021. Since he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Michigan Tech in 1984, Stinson has held multiple VP and C-suite positions for leading healthcare IT companies.
Stinson is an accomplished executive with 35 years’ experience in the field of Healthcare Information Technology, having held roles with Sunquest, Sage, and MediQuest. He has delivered hundreds of global products and services to the healthcare community from conception to commercialization. Stinson is currently a member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the Product Development and Management Association.
During his campus visit, he weaved his expertise and passion for business education into a learning experience for the students and faculty, sharing real-world business anecdotes and opportunities in the field of Healthcare Information Technology. 
While on campus, Stinson interacted with the COB students in three classes—Operations and Supply Chain Management; Project Management; and Sales and Sales Technology. Dr. Junhong “Jun” Min, associate professor of marketing, pointed out, “Students learned how data makes sales work, and his thoughts on the future really inspired them.”
Third-year marketing major Jaxon Verhoff said, “Mr. Stinson took the time to give me direction and advice on how to maximize the value of my MTU education in my career.”
Stinson’s experience complements new COB faculty member Tripti Singh’s expertise on healthcare information systems; her work includes the adoption of healthcare technology, information privacy, and health information disclosure issues among patients in the healthcare domain. Research in this area enriches the application of MIS and could benefit future multidisciplinary projects with the development of Tech’s H-STEM complex.
Paul Stinson currently serves on COB’s Dean’s Advisory Council.
About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.
Congratulations to Fiona Chow, recipient of the Management Information Systems (MIS) Alumni Scholarship. The MIS Alumni Scholarship is an endowed scholarship created and funded by College of Business MIS graduates. Selection criteria include being an MIS major (or dual major) with a strong academic standing, a demonstrated commitment to the degree program, and professional communication skills.
“Being honored with this scholarship makes my final semesters at MTU much more meaningful. With the support of this scholarship and our alumni, I feel confident in my ability to fully focus on academics while giving back and making an impact through campus involvement,” Chow says. 
The fourth-year MIS student, who will graduate in December 2022, is interning this summer as a data engineer with Polaris, Inc. Chow is researching and integrating a new weather data source into the powersports leader’s analytics database and creating an application to better understand supplier capacity information, while learning new programming languages including SQL and R.
Jeff Wall, associate professor of MIS, says that Chow is ambitious, focused, and driven—with a bright future ahead. Her career interests include data analytics, data science, brand management, entrepreneurship, and research and development. She says that she is a curious person who is interested in learning about ways to bring people and solutions together through technology. 
On-campus, Chow serves as project manager of SENSE Enterprise (Strategic Education Through Naval Systems Experiences). She is responsible for overall Enterprise strategy, leadership, direction, and growth. She is also an Orientation Team Leader, a founding member of the MTU Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) chapter, a College of Business student ambassador, IRHC broomball player, and participant in swing club lessons and Ridge Roamer climbs.
About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.
The Husky Investment Tournament hosted by the College of Business at Michigan Technological University this spring drew high school business students from across the country and world to compete for a cash prize and scholarships toward a Michigan Tech education.
Students Prabhnoor Singh, Tijil Gupta, and Amol Singh Cheema of Amity International School in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, came in first place at the conclusion of trading on April 16.
“The tournament really helped us to get real-world trading experience while competing with other people,” the team, who worked together remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, said.
Their teacher, Virendra Verma, taught the eleventh-graders the basics of stock market investing and reached out to the College of Business for a platform to complement their existing high school curriculum and help further develop their investment skills.
The competition utilizes a virtual stock-trading tool and college student- and faculty-led video modules to help high school educators lead engaging conversations and lessons of their own. Teams of three to four students receive $1,000,000 in virtual US dollars to build a portfolio. The group with the highest-valued portfolio earns $1,000 in prize money and all students who actively participate are awarded a scholarship to attend Michigan Tech.
As a result of increased interest, this semester, the competition expanded to include international participants.
The Husky Investment Tournament is embedded in high school economics, business, and personal finance classes. Since its launch in September 2019, 917 students from across California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, and Wisconsin have participated in the Husky Investment Tournament.
High school educators or administrators wishing to sign teams up for a future competition should visit mtu.edu/business-tournament.
About the College of Business
The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.
Emily Kughn is a second-year student in Michigan Technological University’s College of Business, dual majoring in marketing and management with a concentration in supply chain and operations management. The Horton, Michigan, native is also a member of the American Marketing Association. Below is her piece about what it’s like living and learning on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Walking onto campus to start my first year, I felt a huge mix of emotions: happy to start a new chapter, sad to leave my family and friends back home, anxious about what’s to come, and excited about my new independence. Just like any other first-time college student, I had my guesses about what college might be like, but I really had no idea what to expect. I can assure you the last thing I anticipated was a global pandemic!
Fast forward now into my second year at Michigan Tech—my everyday campus life looks much different than it did last year. Obviously, I wish more than anything that this virus never existed, but I’ve learned to forge a new path and create a new normal.
The sense of community on Michigan Tech’s campus is especially strong this year. We’ve found creative ways to come together and show support for one another. Since we can’t attend sporting events, have large gatherings, or socialize much outside of class, it makes the interaction we do get extra special. My favorite ways to safely socialize now include our outdoor movie nights, bonfires, going on hikes, and Zoom calls with my friends. 
In order to thrive in online classes, I find it vital to establish a routine to stay organized. I treat my classes the same way I would if they were all in person. I make sure to mask up and head to the library at least twice a week in order to get a change of scenery while studying. I am also still very much involved in student organizations, which keeps me busy.
In the American Marketing Association, we participated in a virtual marketing competition and the Women’s Rugby Club competed against our conference in a virtual season. My student org involvement has been a major blessing; being able to stay connected with others in new ways while also staying involved in things I enjoy.
The most challenging part of the year so far has been not being able to attend all classes in person, not being able to see all of my friends, trying to meet new people, and constantly dealing with the many unknowns.
Finding opportunities to learn and grow given our current circumstances is important. Living and learning on campus during a pandemic definitely comes with challenges. However, I am thankful to be on the campus I love, still doing the things I enjoy (even if virtual for now).