Report to the Board of Regents
UW-Oshkosh art students in a digital fabrication class recently gained real-world professional experience working with one of the community’s most prestigious employers, Oshkosh Defense. The students created innovative designs for the company’s new People First Recognition Awards Program. Final designs will be manufactured for a fall award ceremony.
More than 70 UW-Superior faculty, staff, and community members attended the Mindfulness Leadership Workshop at the Yellowjacket Union. Sponsored by the campus Pruitt Center for Mindfulness and Well-Being in coordination with Arizona State, the event brought participants together to have conversations about the importance of healthfulness, personal balance, and resiliency.
UW-Parkside recently honored a former chancellor at the dedication of the new Alan E. Guskin Center for Community and Business Engagement. The facility honors the vision and legacy of the university’s second chancellor, Dr. Guskin, who established the university’s commitment to creating mutually beneficial partnerships with the community. Today, more than 1,500 UW-Parkside students engage in community-based learning and internships with more than 100 partners each year.
UW-Stout School of Engineering students are using their knowledge to benefit workers in Wisconsin. Students built a system to help automate bed box frame production at the Career Development Center in Eau Claire. The system boosts production, improves safety, and helps workers learn new skills. Manufacturing engineering major Alex Kowalczyk said, “It feels great knowing we are doing something to impact people’s lives.”
UW-Stevens Point students not only learn useful information in a molecular biology course, they also conduct research for Prevention Genetics, a genetics testing laboratory in Marshfield. This gives students valuable research and lab experience and a significant competitive advantage when they graduate. In fact, several Point grads have already been hired by the firm.
This fall, high school students in River Falls can earn college credit before ever stepping onto the UW-River Falls campus. A groundbreaking dual credit agreement with the River Falls School District offers students the chance to take approved UW courses. The program is designed to be an affordable investment for students interested in banking college credits and experiencing the rigor and personal responsibility crucial to success in college.
At UW-Platteville, innovation and workforce development is at the forefront of two upcoming building projects to begin next year. Faculty and staff input have been instrumental in designing collaborative learning areas, a green roof, and other hands-on experiences that will make science building Boebel Hall and new engineering building Sesquicentennial Hall living, learning classrooms.
In the last year, nearly 8,500 companies have sought out students from UW-Madison to meet their talent needs. The companies often work through the Office of Business Engagement to set up mock interview sessions, classroom projects, and even job shadowing. They also meet with students at large-scale career fairs on campus.
UW-La Crosse student Savannah Stanley recently received a U.S. State Department Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study during spring semester in San José, Costa Rica. The scholarship enables students to study or intern abroad, thereby gaining skills critical to our national security and economic competitiveness. Stanley says the experience gave her confidence to communicate and travel internationally.
UW-Green Bay’s Md Maruf Hossain will receive the 2019 Carl E. Gulbrandsen Innovator of the Year Award by WiSys. As a teacher and inventor, this assistant professor of engineering technology has helped build a culture of innovation on campus and across the UW System. His interest in electrical power systems and renewable energy, along with research grants, led him to research and develop wind turbines.
UW-Eau Claire students have launched Clearwater Labs, a 100% student-run software consulting company in downtown Eau Claire that’s on track to become self-funded and self-sustaining. The students work as a team providing technology solutions to area businesses. One project, an energy dashboard, advanced to the third round of the Smart Cities–Smart Futures competition, earning a $1,500 prize.
A UW-Whitewater political science major took part in a life-changing study abroad experience in Central America. Kayla White traveled to El Salvador where she had the chance to take part in historic presidential elections and witness a landmark Supreme Court case involving the country’s civil war.
UW-Milwaukee’s newly opened Lubar Entrepreneurship Center is making entrepreneurship an even more integral part of the UWM experience for students, faculty, and staff. The center is bringing together numerous programs across all disciplines to nurture ideas and build confidence. The result? Supporting entrepreneurs and change-makers that thrive on innovation.