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Global network can be tapped to turn innovations into jobs and products, says new essay published by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
MADISON, Wis. – With a Badger assist more solutions can make their way from campus to the market, strengthening the state’s economy and changing the world, says Mike Knetter, president of the University of Wisconsin Foundation.
In a new essay, “How Alumni Can Carry the Wisconsin Idea Forward,” Knetter calls on enterprising graduates – both young and seasoned – to build connections and help jump-start the university’s business culture.
“We need help from people with entrepreneurial skills and expertise to be advisors, counselors and mentors. And who better to play those roles than our 441,500 UW alumni?” Knetter writes. “By mobilizing the base of alumni to be active partners in this work, we can accelerate economic development in the region while involving them in the expression of the Wisconsin Idea.”
The new essay is part of a larger online series called “Innovation and the Wisconsin Idea,” featuring more than 20 prominent contributors exploring the crucial interdependence between university innovations and the strength of the Wisconsin economy.
Co-authors represent different regions of the state while sharing a common bond through the field they represent, from agriculture and engineering to health care and policymaking.
Contributors to the series include:
- Erik Iverson, Managing Director, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
- Governor Tommy G. Thompson and Professor Mike Sussman
- Professor Dan Ludois and Cecil Edirisinghe, CEO of Velicon
- Chris Salm, CEO of Ab E Discovery, and Dean Kate VandenBosch
- Dr. Alan Kaplan, CEO of UW Health, and Dr. Susan Turney, CEO of Marshfield Clinic
- John Neis, Executive Managing Director of Venture Investors, and Cory Nettles, Founder and Managing Director of Generation Growth Capital Inc.
- Dean Ian Robertson and Greg Piefer, CEO of SHINE Medical Technologies
- Zach Brandon, President of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, and Tim Sheehy, President of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
- Arjun Sanga, President of WiSys, and Zach Halmstad, Co-Founder of Jamf
- State Senator Luther Olsen and Dean Robert Golden
- Chancellor Dean Van Galen and Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council
- State Senator Alberta Darling and Rock Mackie, Professor and Entrepreneur
- Mike Knetter, President of the University of Wisconsin Foundation
For more information about the series Innovation and the Wisconsin Idea, please visit warf.org/WisconsinInnovates. Comments on the series are welcome at [email protected].
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About WARF
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) helps steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Founded in 1925 as an independent, nonprofit foundation, WARF manages more than 1,900 patents and an investment portfolio of $2.7 billion as it funds university research, obtains patents for campus discoveries and licenses inventions to industry. For more information, visit WARF.org and view WARF’s Cycle of Innovation.
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