Here’s a look at news from around Michigan’s innovation hot spots:
—The Zell Lurie Institute at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business has been named one of the top three graduate entrepreneurship programs in the country for the third year in a row. The rankings are compiled by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine, which surveyed more than 2,000 schools nationwide to come up with the top 25 graduate schools for entrepreneurs. Schools are ranked based on institutional data; the level of commitment to entrepreneurs inside and outside the classroom; percentage of students, faculty, and alumni that are actively involved in startups; number of mentorship programs; and funding for scholarships and grants related to entrepreneurial studies or projects.
—Here’s an offer wanna-be coders shouldn’t refuse: Beginning in October, Grand Circus will offer two free, intensive boot camps for people who want to change careers and learn how to code. The classes will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Grand Circus will help participants who complete the boot camp find a full-time job. The Android intensive bootcamp runs Oct. 27 to Dec. 12 and the deadline to sign up is Oct. 5; click here to apply. The intensive QA bootcamp runs Nov. 10 to Dec. 19; click here to apply.
—Earlier this month, the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan (MTAM) launched its “Mobile in Transportation” statewide advisory council to increase collaboration around using mobile technologies in all areas of transportation. Tim Yerdon, vice president of design, marketing, and connected services at Visteon, will lead the council, which is tasked with helping MTAM develop resources, events, strategies, and networking opportunities.
The advisory council will hold its first meeting at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 9 at Visteon’s headquarters in Van Buren Township; those interested in participating in the advisory council should contact MTAM at [email protected].
—U-M’s Center for the Discovery of New Medicine (CDNM) has awarded eight grants totaling $205,000 to researchers developing new treatments for cancer, infectious diseases, and heart failure. Founded in 2012, the CDNM provides financial support and mentorship to researchers with promising potential therapeutics. The grants go toward moving early-stage research projects toward commercialization. To apply for the next round of grants awarded in early 2015, click here; the deadline to apply is Dec. 1.
—Automation Alley, the Troy-based technology business association and accelerator, announced a new milestone this month: As a result of the group’s trade missions and other activities overseas, Southeast Michigan companies have made $400 million in export sales, which have resulted in the creation or support of more than 2,360 jobs. Since Automation Alley’s international trade missions began in 2001, the organization has taken 156 local companies on 21 trade missions.
The next such trip, in December, will be to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Companies who want to participate in this upcoming trade mission should contact the Automation Alley Resource Center at (800) 427-5100 or [email protected].
—Plymouth Township-based Delphinius Medical Technologies, developer of the SoftVue breast ultrasound system, has named Mark Forchette president and CEO. Prior to joining Delphinius, Forchette was president and CEO of OptiMedica Corporation, an ophthalmic medical device company acquired by Abbott Laboratories in 2013. Before that, he was vice president of sales and U.S. marketing at Greishaber and Company.
—The Michigan Biotechnology Institute (MBI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Michigan State University Foundation focused on scaling and de-risking bio-based technologies, has signed an agreement with Bioindustrial Innovation Canada, a nonprofit supported by the Canadian government that is working to bridge the gap between research and commercialization in bio-based chemicals and energy production. The agreement lays out a framework for coordinated research to speed the commercialization process of bio-based chemicals and materials, and is intended to raise awareness of biomanufacturing and the production of green chemicals in Michigan and Ontario.
