Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Tag: engineering management

Field Trip to Northern Hardwoods Sharpens Students’ Six Sigma Skills

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Seven Michigan Tech students in hardhats listen as a manager at Northern Hardwoods explains operations during a tour at a nearby regional lumber mill as part of a College of Business field trip.
From left are Ryan LaPorte, Northern Hardwoods operations manager; and fall 2024 Fundamentals of Six Sigma class members Kiran Sapali, Dalin Adle, Logan Laughrey, Rohit Bhilave, Patrick Moeller, Stevans Ackon, and Hunter Bilgreen. (Image courtesy Roger Woods)

Case studies in operations management are better in person. For the fifth year, Roger Woods has taken his students to Northern Hardwoods in nearby Atlantic Mine as a way to bring what they’re learning into real-world application.

Woods, a teaching professor in operations management, makes the opportunity available to his Fundamentals of Six Sigma course. He said the tour was particularly helpful for the fall 2024 class.

“Their final case study was based on a lumber mill, so having some firsthand knowledge could be helpful as they worked through it and analyzed the data,” he said.

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Students Find Success in Entrepreneurship Competitions

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(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.

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Ola Ayeni Named 2025 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Finalist

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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.

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Huskies Place First, Second in THEProject Competition

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by Roger Woods, College of Business

Students in OSM4350 Advanced Project Management, led by Roger Woods (COB), participated in the 12th annual Western Michigan Project Management Institute (WMPMI) collegiate project management competition — known as THEProject — where they took home first and second place.

The teams gave their final presentations Monday (April 8) in Hudsonville, Michigan.

The Project, Team Name: Anchor Management
Photo credit: THEProject
Team Name: Anchor Management
Photo Left to Right: Travis Puesel, WMPMI THEProject Director with MTU Students: Easton Armstrong, Meredith Raaslo, Jacob Maurer, Blake Lewis, William Zinser, Alexander Bos

Students on the winning teams include:

  • First-Place Team — Anchor Management:
    Jacob Maurer (team lead), Blake Lewis, Easton Armstrong, Alex Bos, Will Zinser and Meredith Raasio
  • Second-Place Team — Lake Superior Salute:
    Gregory Lapetina (team lead), Connor Zavislak, Ethan Kennedy, Maggie Gallup, Ashley Haen and Simon Karnoe
THEProject Team Lake Superior Salute
Photo credit: THEProject
Team: Lake Superior Salute
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