Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University
1401 Presque Isle Ave, Marquette, MI 49855 • 1-800-682-9797
Technology Transfer
The Technology Transfer office manages all issues pertaining to intellectual property (IP), including: IP rights, patenting, licensing, conflicts of interest, copyright protection, sponsored research programs, federal policies, human subjects policies, grants and contracts
The NMU Academic Affairs Office oversees Intellectual property policy and procedures, which can be found at: http://www.nmu.edu/grad_research/intellectual_property.htm
University-Industry Commercialization Programs
Northern Michigan University develops linkages between the university and industry/high technology companies to pursue joint innovative, industry-driven applied research opportunities that are mutually beneficial. Ideally such programs will involve students.
Studio for Experimental and Eco-Design (SEED)
http://art.nmu.edu/department/bus.shtml
Contact: Professor Michael Cinelli, mcinelli@nmu.edu
The Studio for Experimental and Eco-Design (SEED), in the School of Art and Design, is under development. Soon, it will serve as a resource for university and regional community members interested in developing new, updated and green products (from handheld devices to houses). Students will be an integral part of SEED through service learning projects. SEED plans to host feature seminars, offer workshops and feature guest lectures. All events will be open to the campus community and general public. Through these efforts, SEED will strive to become an important contributor to the economic and sustainable growth of the Upper Peninsula.
Entrepreneurship Education related to Economic Development
Business Plan Competitions
Northern Michigan University students, irrespective of their major, are invited to participate in the New Business Venture Competition. Students, working individually, or in teams of up to five, can submit a plan to start a new business and compete for $10,000 in cash prizes. Students must be enrolled at the University during the 2009-10 academic year.
This Competition is designed to encourage entrepreneurial activism among students by recognizing and rewarding those who present detailed plans on designing and creating new business enterprises, drawing on their own ideas and inventions or those of others. The competition provides a forum for these students to present their new venture plans to investors, receive meaningful feedback, have the opportunity to start a new business, and apply classroom learning to real world projects. The business plans must propose ventures that will be financially profitable, create new jobs, and be lawful.
Individuals and teams proposing new ventures can have advisors and coaches, who may be faculty members, business executives, or entrepreneurs. While this is encouraged, it is not required. However, it is the students who must present their own original ideas and participate in the various activities connected with the Competition.
Northern Entrepreneurship Organization
http://myweb.nmu.edu/~neowebpg/
Ray Amtmann, ramtmann@nmu.edu
The goal of the Northern Entrepreneurship Organization (NEO) is to help students develop their natural entrepreneurship abilities in a collegiate atmosphere in order to increase their chance of success after school. It was established in the fall of 2007 to help students by networking them with local entrepreneurs, providing them with career advice and personal investing information. It is also a chance for students to gain access to funds that might become available and allow them to start their businesses. The organization also seeks to improve the community through various charitable works and offering various entrepreneurship scholarships. Another important component of the NEO is the establishment of student run businesses that help develop the members’ resumes and provide them with real world experience.
The Superior Fund
http://webb.nmu.edu/Colleges/Business/SiteSections/Programs/Majors/SuperiorFund.shtml
In the fall semester 2006, the College of Business created the Student Managed Investment Fund. The Fund provides students with hands-on, real world experience by enabling them to apply financial and investment concepts learned in the classroom to corporate equity analysis, portfolio management, and group decision making.
The Fund is an innovative experiential learning program where business students in two upper division finance courses (Investment Analysis and Portfolio Theory) meet regularly to evaluate national and international economies, industry conditions, and corporate performances. Using this information, students select and buy (or sell) actual stocks and bonds with the goal of increasing the overall value of the Fund. The students also develop the investment policy that guides their decisions on where to invest the monies.
The Fund started with an initial sum of $200,000 – provided by the College’s alumni and friends and Northern Michigan University.
The professors in the Finance program are closely associated with the integration of the Fund into the curriculum and with overseeing the overall functioning of the Fund. The Fund also has a team of industry professionals who serve as an advisory board. Student leaders of the fund and supervising faculty will adhere strictly to the Association for Investment Management and Research (AIMR) codes of ethics.
With the establishment of this Fund, the College of Business and Northern Michigan University has joined a select number of universities which offer this learning opportunity to its students. To learn more about this Fund, please contact Dr. Daniel Konku, Assistant Professor of Finance, at dkonku@nmu.edu.
Economic Development/Outreach
Sam M. Cohodas Scholar
Tawni Ferrarini, tferrari@nmu.edu
The Sam M. Cohodas Scholar for economic development in the Upper Peninsula works with the campus community and regional organizations to research economic activity for others to use to develop plans for enhancing the U.P. economy.