FLINT – Kettering University hosted industry

leaders from 24 companies across Michigan at the inaugural Unleash the

Intrapreneur conference on June 3 in the Campus Center. An Intrapreneur is a

person who works from within an organization to bring value to the company by

recognizing and championing opportunities for innovation and growth.

“The goal of the conference is to provide

industry leaders an opportunity to evaluate how we are preparing our students

to use Intrapreneurial skills. These skills will help them to be effective

agents who know how to align their ideas and efforts with the corporate

strategy. We need a dialogue with industry to ensure Kettering’s

curriculum meets Industry’s needs,” said Dr. Patrick Atkinson ’91, professor of

Mechanical Engineering at Kettering University. “We also want our industry

partners to leave with intrapreneurial strategies they can start to use the

next day in their respective ecosystems.”

The

curriculum, which addresses Intrapreneurship, is embedded inKettering�s

Innovation-to-Entrepreneurship Course of Study(i2e-CS), a

multidisciplinary elective program at Kettering.

“The goal of i2e-CS is to provide Kettering

students with an engaging way to develop and practice an innovation and

entrepreneurship mindset within the framework of their STEM classes,” said Dr.

Tavakoli, director of Innovation to Entrepreneurship Across the University.

Kettering University is a part of KEEN (Kern

Entrepreneurial Engineering Network), and several Kettering faculty members

have received funding from the Kern Family Foundation to continuously

incorporate entre- and intra-preneurial elements in their classrooms.

The day-long conference consisted of breakout

sessions and exercises that paired faculty and students with industry leaders

to help Kettering receive feedback about the contents of the i2e-CS curriculum

and adapt it to better meet industry needs.

A student showcase featuring current students

and alumni exemplified how the intrapreneurial mindset can be implemented.

“This conference is another opportunity to

bridge the gap between the needs of industry and the education that Kettering

provides,” Atkinson said. “From the very moment that our graduates leave campus

to work in industry, we want them to immediately meet the innovative and

intrapreneurial needs of their employer in addition to providing the technical

expertise.”