Academic, Business Leaders Unite to Foster Economic Development
06/06/2013
Contacts: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu, Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu
* Media Advisory *
Wednesday, June 12
8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
What: Experts from higher-education institutions, venture incubators and foundations supporting entrepreneurship from across North America will explore how colleges and universities can expand their roles as launching pads for new products, services and technologies, spurring economic development in their communities and the global marketplace.
Representatives of more than a dozen colleges and universities will attend the second annual Deshpande Symposium for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education. The conference will feature more than 35 speakers at 10 sessions throughout the day on topics such as entrepreneurship in the liberal arts, engaging faculty as business innovators, technology commercialization and connecting campuses to corporations and the community.
Donald Sadoway, an energy expert and MIT professor who has founded several startups, will deliver the keynote address during a 6 p.m. dinner that will showcase UMass Lowell’s $80 million Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, home to public-private research and development collaboration in nanotechnology, nanomanufacturing, plastics engineering and more.
Conference speakers are also scheduled to include Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, chairman of Sparta Group LLC and co-founder of the Deshpande Foundation and the Merrimack Valley Sandbox at UMass Lowell; UMass Lowell Executive Vice Chancellor Jacqueline Moloney; Steven Tello, UMass Lowell’s associate vice chancellor of entrepreneurship and economic development and Nancy Saucier, UMass Lowell’s associate director of new venture development. For more, including a full schedule, visit http://gps.uml.edu/deshpandesymposium.htm.
Where: Conference sessions – UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell. Keynote dinner – Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, North Campus, 40 University Ave., Lowell. Contact UMass Lowell media relations for directions and parking information.