UW-Whitewater will host a Wisconsin Idea Forum on 27 April 2012 with a focus on "Building Wisconsin's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem" and the University of Wisconsin System's role as a powerful economic engine for the state of Wisconsin. Registration is FREE. Sessions will be organized in three tracks:

• TRACK 1:  The evolution of curricular and co-curricular offerings to address the needs of business.
• TRACK 2:  The generation of start-up companies and job growth by faculty and staff scholarly activity.
• TRACK 3:  The delivery by Institutes, Centers, and other outreach programs of high quality services to businesses to maintain the state's competitiveness in the global economy. 

The Forum will consist of 60-minute breakout sessions and facilitated lunch roundtables that address the three areas above. A pre-event workshop will be held on 26 April 2012. See below for additional details.

Agenda

The Wisconsin Idea Forum will be hosted on the UW-Whitewater campus in Timothy J. Hyland Hall and Esker Dining Hall.

8:00 to 9:00        Registration/Check-in, Refreshments, and Poster Session: Hyland Hall 2100
                             Posters will be on display until 2:00.

9:00 to 9:15        Welcome Address: Hyland Hall Room 2101
                             Beverly Kopper, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs,
                             University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

9:15 to 10:30      Keynote Address: Hyland Hall Room 2101
                              Wisconsin's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: A Cluster Approach to Utility Maximization
                              Jeff Vanevenhoven, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and
                              Doan Winkel, Illinois State University

10:45 to 11:45    Breakout Sessions

                              Curricular/Co-Curricular Initiatives: Hyland Hall Room 1300
                              Leveraging Academic Capability to Foster Increased Productivity
                              in an Organization's IT Investments
                              Steve Scholough, University of Wisconsin-Stout
                              Subharoj Dahal, University of Wisconsin-Stout

                              Entrepreneur/Start-up Ventures: Hyland Hall Room 1303
                              This is My Entrepreneurship
                             Chris Brooks, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
                             Joe Scanlin, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
                             Denise Ehlen, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

                             Outreach and Business Services: Hyland Hall Room 2102
                             Fiscal and Economic Research Center [FERC] Business Model
                             Russ Kashian, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

12:00 to 12:15    Chancellor's Address: Hyland Hall 2101
                              Richard Telfer, Chancellor, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

12:15 to 12:30    UW System Address: Hyland Hall 2101

12:30 to 1:30      Lunch / Facilitated Table Discussions: Esker Dining Hall Room 118

1:45 to 2:45        Breakout Sessions

                              Curricular/Co-Curricular Initiatives: Hyland Hall Room 1300
                              Connecting Students with Real World Experiences While Addressing Business Needs
                              Bud Gayhart, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

                              Entrepreneur/Start-up Ventures: Hyland Hall Room 1303
                              Sales and the Entrepreneur
                              Robert Boostrom, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

                             Outreach and Business Services: Hyland Hall Room 1305
                             Entrepreneur Mentor Advantage - Making the Connection
                             Mark Burwell, Evolutions Group

3:00 to 4:30        Final Facilitated Discussion and Closing Remarks: Hyland Hall Room 2101
                             Linda Reid, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

A free pre-event workshop and networking event hosted by Dr. Jeff Vanevenhoven and Dr. William Dougan will be hosted at the Whitewater Innovation Center in room 105 A/B from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm. Please use the registration link in the top right corner to attend.