Enterprise Blog

Tag: industry

A Thank You to Sponsors.

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By Len Switzer, Associate Director, Enterprise Program

The Enterprise Program Team at Michigan Tech would like to extend a heartfelt thank you for all the support provided by the sponsors. The Enterprise and Senior Design teams continue to tackle new, challenging problems in technology, manufacturing, transportation, energy, communications, and societal issues with these generous donations of time, money, and resources.

Becoming involved as an industrial sponsor is incredibly rewarding on so many levels. Sponsors get a chance to interact with some of the brightest minds through working with multidisciplinary teams to consult and advise on the development of unique solutions to real-world problems. This also allows for access to students, advising faculty, and other resources of the University.

Whether you are looking at options to grow your workforce, advance ideas in your business, improve your research portfolio, or just help improve the quality of university education, please consider continuing support for the Enterprise and Senior Design teams. In addition, the Enterprise Program would be happy to discuss whether sponsorship of a project is the right choice for you. Please contact Len Switzer (lswitzer@mtu.edu) or visit www.mtu.edu/enterprise/giving/ to learn more.

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An Update from the Enterprise Program

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By Nagesh Hatti, Director, Enterprise Program

black and glad lamp post signs.
First Snow on Michigan Tech’s Campus, Fall 2022

Welcome to the Fall 2022 issue of the Enterprise Program Newsletter. As the season changes from Fall to Winter in Houghton, it is also a season of change here at the Enterprise program. After spending 16 years as Director of the Enterprise Program, Rick Berkey, who oversaw the growth of the Enterprise into a renowned program, decided to pursue other opportunities outside the University. We at the Enterprise program thank him for his leadership, dedication, and service and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Starting this Fall, I have taken over as the Director of the Enterprise program. Before taking over as the Director, I was a faculty member in our Electrical and Computer Engineering department for three years. So the Enterprise program is not new to me. As an Enterprise faculty advisor, I have seen our students grow and succeed. The program immerses the students in an experience as unique as Michigan Tech. I have spent over 18 years in the industry, first as a software engineer and then in various supply chain and program management corporate roles. I see the Enterprise program’s role in preparing our students for a challenging and fulfilling career. I am committed to strengthening the Enterprise program and enhancing experiential learning for our students. As we leave behind the tumultuous times of the last two years brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am excited to meet with students and share their enthusiasm and passion for work.

The winds of change do not stop here. We have a new associate director for industry engagement – Dr. Len Switzer. Len joins the Enterprise team with a wealth of knowledge and industry background. He has over 20 years of experience working in the industry with a wide range of roles, from research engineer in industrial systems to business development and management of large programs. Len is a Michigan Tech alumnus (’96) with a BS in Chemical Engineering. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. We are excited to have Len join the Enterprise program. His corporate experience and technical background will strengthen industry partnerships and benefit our students.

Nagesh Hatti, Director

I also extend a thank you on behalf of everyone at Enterprise to all those who have supported the program. Your support is essential. I look forward to your continued involvement in the program.

Finally, if you have a project idea or want to get more involved with Enterprise, please reach out to discuss your ideas and interests. Also, please contact me if you are in the Houghton area and wish to visit.

Until then, Happy Holidays!

Nagesh Hatti

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H-STEM Enterprise’s Commitment to Promoting and Advocating for Health

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By The H-STEM Enterprise

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H-STEM students gathered outside of the Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M).

The Michigan Tech “H-STEM” Enterprise is a new student-run, multi-disciplinary team committed to improving human health. H-STEM operates within the University’s Enterprise Program, an educational program that aims to develop students’ technical, business, and interpersonal skills through problem and project-based learning. The H-STEM Enterprise comprises 20 students from different majors, including mechanical, electrical, and biomedical engineering and robotics, biology, and biochemistry. The enterprise’s mission is to improve the community’s health and well-being through innovative science and technology. They do so by working on rehabilitation engineering, healthcare, and health promotion projects. For example, their current projects aim to 1) improve mobility for clinical populations (e.g., stroke, osteoarthritis, joint replacement surgery) and 2) develop cost-effective rehabilitation equipment.

A current project the team is working on is a body weight support treadmill designed to relieve pressure during normal walking/running motion. It has applications in physical therapy for lower extremity injuries, surgery, stroke, or general exercise. Another project is a knee recovery device that will determine the functionality of a knee joint and quadriceps muscles during rehabilitation compared to a healthy knee and muscles. It has application in physical therapy after an ACL or other ligament tear surgery and knee joint replacement surgery. The most recent project, which started this semester, focuses on prosthetics. The goal is to create a suspension system for a prosthetic socket to increase comfort and versatility for the patient in rehab.

The H-STEM Enterprise is also committed to promoting and advocating for health on campus and in the community. . For example, last year, they assisted with the COVID-19 testing clinic on campus and also participated in the U.P. COVID-19 Community Townhall, where they spoke alongside healthcare professionals and other community experts. Most recently, the H-STEM Enterprise presented at the Michigan Tech Global and Community Engagement Conference, where they talked about their current projects that aim to improve the health of the U.P. community as identified in the recent 2021 UP Health Needs Assessment Report.

It is an exciting time for health education and research on campus. Michigan Tech’s new H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex is scheduled to be constructed in early 2024. The new building will provide state-of-the-art teaching and research labs to advance learning, develop new technologies, and prepare a skilled workforce for tomorrow. For more information about the H-STEM Enterprise, potential sponsorships, and/or collaborative opportunities, please contact Steven Elmer, the H-STEM advisor, via phone (906-487-2324) or email (sjelmer@mtu.edu).

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Highlighting Your Enterprise Experience on Your Resume and to Recruiters

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Join E.B. Mayer and Heather DeJong on Monday, February 19th from 4-5:30pm in M&M 722 as they discuss their experiences mentoring Enterprise teams and recruiting technical talent at various universities. They will also focus on areas of student Enterprise experience that are of particular interest to industry.

E.B. Mayer is an accomplished Agile and DevOps Information Technology transformation strategist and thought leader with over 15 years of experience across multiple industries and fortune 500 companies. Heather is an energetic and experienced IT and Operational leader recognized for developing talent, building strong teams, and driving results across a broad spectrum of capabilities.

This event is open to everyone on campus. Students enrolled in the Enterprise Program or considering joining an Enterprise team are encouraged to attend.

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Enterprise Student Lands Position with Boston Scientific in Ireland

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By Amy Karagiannakis

The Enterprise Program at Michigan Tech has increasingly gained national recognition for its ability to provide students with the experiential training and real-world problem-solving that industry wants. Recruiters at the Career Fair recognize Enterprise as a program that prepares undergraduate students for careers in industry by focusing on collaboration, cross-functional teamwork, and leadership. That recognition has expanded to a global level, with the recent job offer to Enterprise student Mario Calabria from Boston Scientific’s facility in Galway, Ireland.

Mario Calabria is a member of the Innovative Global Solutions (IGS) Enterprise and a Mechanical Engineering student at Michigan Tech. IGS focuses on designing affordable products for developing countries through research, reverse engineering, and testing. Members of IGS will take an idea from initial concept to final product through interdisciplinary teamwork and human-centered design thinking. By working with other organizations and programs on campus such as the Pavlis Honors College Global Leadership Pathway, Peace Corps, and International Senior Design, IGS team members are able to personally deliver and implement their products in country.

IGS team photo. Mario Calabria is pictured at the far right.
IGS team photo. Mario Calabria is pictured at the far right.

Calabria collaborated on an IGS project to redesign a low cost ventilator for deployment in third world countries. A typical ventilator costs tens of thousands of dollars and is not a feasible option in economically poorer regions of the world. Calabria, along with his IGS teammates, have been developing a ventilator that performs the same basic life-saving functions, but at a much more affordable price of under $2000. The current IGS team continues to improve on and enhance the ventilator through collaboration with a Ghanaian University and hospital.

IGS at Tech's annual Design Expo. Calabria is first from the left.
IGS at Tech’s annual Design Expo. Calabria is first from the left.

Calabria highlighted his Enterprise experience while he was seeking to secure an internship with Boston Scientific, “I learned a lot about myself, how to motivate people, how to set group goals, and how to move everybody in the same direction at the same pace.” The leadership role that Calabria took on through the IGS project work was of particular interest to the recruiters at Boston Scientific. Calabria accepted the internship last summer, which allowed him to get to know Boston Scientific employees and expand his professional network beyond the Michigan Tech campus.

Calabria’s mother was born and raised in Galway, Ireland, and following the internship with Boston Scientific, Calabria and his family were getting ready to travel to Galway for a family reunion. Calabria reached out to some of his contacts at Boston Scientific and was offered the opportunity to interview and tour the facility in Galway, Ireland. Following the interview, Boston Scientific offered Calabria a full time position in Ireland serving the cardiovascular group that manufactures drug-eluting and biliary stents. Calabria recalls speaking about his Enterprise experience during the interview process, “I do think it played a significant role in my being offered a position.”

Calabria is also a lieutenant on the Michigan Tech Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team. Calabria’s EMS training was put to the test last Thanksgiving when his father suffered a heart attack while mountain biking the Tech trails. Calabria’s quick thinking and the responsiveness of the Tech EMS team saved Mark Calabria’s life. Mario Calabria is expected to graduate this December and is looking forward to his future career with Boston Scientific in Galway, Ireland.

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Consumer Products Day and Enterprise Team Challenge!

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Consumer Products Day is being held on Friday April 8 & Saturday April 9 and we’d like to offer an “Enterprise Challenge” to all other enterprises to create a team for this event.

Cash prizes (1st place teams $2,400, 2nd $1,600 and 3rd place team $800) are available to the winning teams. See the attached info for more details or visit our website.
Here’s how it works:
Students work in self-selected teams from a variety of majors and will be given a box of products from company reps to recreate or redesign these products for use in other ways. A great example of this is the Post-it note. It was invented solely by accident (read about it here). This Shark-tank style event will feature company reps who challenge students to come up with a new business idea from use of their products. This event, sponsored by Career Services in collaboration with Consumer Products Manufacturing Enterprise (CPM) features four companies on campus for the event; Amway, Kimberly Clark, Dow Chemical and 3M.

In order to promote the event, we are asking that you share this information with your enterprises. Students from the CPM Enterprise are also available to attend your enterprise meetings for maybe 5 minutes (start or end of meeting) to explain the event to your students. If you are interested in this, please contact Shelley Farrey mafarrey@mtu.edu in Career Services or Matthew Manning mmanning@mtu.edu of CPM Enterprise to coordinate your meeting time.

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