Just weeks after a new minor in entrepreneurship opened to all students at U-M, a new campaign to celebrate student innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship kicks off across campus Thursday with the ICE Winter Blast.
The ICE campaign will showcase activities, resources and involvement opportunities in innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship — all to help students turn their ideas into action.
The campaign’s feature event, the Winter Blast, is 5-7 p.m. Thursday at the Rogel Ballroom in the Michigan Union. The festival-themed fair will feature the U-M innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in four areas: academic programs and units, student organizations, student ventures, and the Ann Arbor community.
Attendees can view demonstrations, chat with professors and student organizations, sample free food and have the chance to take home awards like a GoPro camera, ICE care packages and more.
“ICE Winter Blast provides a great opportunity for students to showcase their work and for others to get a view into all of the amazing things that are going on around campus,” said Bobby Dishell, president of the U-M Central Student Government. “This event encapsulates the notion that entrepreneurship can be applied beyond simply technology and business.”
Exhibitors include the Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Engineering, Center for Social Impact, Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Ross School of Business, Zell Entrepreneurship and Law Program, Tech Arb, School of Information, School of Public Health, School of Nursing, Stamps School of Art and Design, Barger Leadership Institute, U-M Libraries, 20 student ventures, 15 student organizations and community members like Ann Arbor Spark, Google and Grand Circus Detroit.
Exhibits let participants experience some of the best U-M innovation first hand and include a medical-procedure simulation man from the School of Nursing’s Clinical Learning Center, flying drones and more from MPowered Entrepreneurship, a roaming robot from Ann Arbor Spark, an entrepreneurial game show by the Center for Entrepreneurship, and live product demos from student ventures and organizations.
“I am very impressed with the creativity and innovation of University of Michigan students,” said U-M President Mark Schlissel.
“Through Innovate Blue, we are working to foster their entrepreneurial spirit, help them leverage the knowledge they gain from our strong academic programs, and allow them to transform their energy and ideas into successes that change the world we live in.”
Over the past three years, nearly 7,000 students enrolled in entrepreneurship and innovation-related courses, and 19,000 participated in entrepreneurial extracurricular activities.
“So many U-M students are innovators,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, senior counselor for entrepreneurial education. “ICE is a way to showcase this talent and encourage others to access the university’s incredible menu of involvement options that help students act on their ideas, from classes, student organizations, research opportunities, competitions, funding and more.”
