Kettering University
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
en•tre•pre•neur [ahn-truh-pruh-nur, -noor] noun a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk. Known for creating tomorrow’s business and industry leaders, Kettering deliberately infuses all of our disciplines with the concepts of innovation and entrepreneurship. Combine that with small classes, state-of-the-art facilities and co-op that starts as early as freshman year – it’s no surprise that Kettering students are the thinkers and doers of the future. Catch the spirit.
Kettering University
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
DREAMING. INNOVATING. SOLVING KETTERING IS ANSWERING THE CALL. Businesses and industries of the future need bright, young minds and Kettering University is poised and ready. We are evolving along with industry; in some cases, our students already have the solutions. Kettering’s commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit is the key. Minds allowed to dream, test and try will be the ones making the difference. Kettering encourages students to test limits, rethink ideas. We have deliberately built entrepreneurial classes into our curriculum for this reason, something no one else can say. Throughout history, our economy has gone through many changes.
Kettering students Kristen Winter, Blake Gowing and Steve Schwartz started RateMyStudentRental.com to help students who are searching for housing on college campuses. Their website provides information to student renters and connects them to reputable housing and landlords.
“Youth of Tomorrow” was started by Kettering engineering and business student, Marc Alexander. The company is devoted to helping the youth of Michigan develop their educational and professional skills. Find out more at www.yoft.org.
Kettering student and entrepreneur, Scott Skelton, has started two companies. “High Performance Outlet” offers customers high performance auto parts and services at the lowest price available, while BookDealFinder.com offers college students a free service to compare textbook prices.
We have moved from the agricultural age to the industrial age, then to the information age, all redefining how we work. Now, industries around the world are once again rethinking, rebuilding, and reinventing. We are now in the innovation age. What will the future look like? Whatever the outcome, Kettering will be ready. Our students will be educated and ready to lead the charge. Through our entrepreneurial culture Kettering students will be the most agile, free thinking group of workers to lead our country and the world. Are you up to the challenge?
Kettering students Matthew Gaidica and Brad Birdsall were instilled with the entrepreneurial spirit. It inspired them to launch their creative design company, “Prime Studios.” Find out more at www.primestudiosllc.com.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACROSS THE CURRICULUM Kettering’s nationally innovative program will infuse all courses offered in the disciplines of engineering, math, science, computer science and business with the concepts of both entrepreneurship and innovation. Kettering University is the home of the exclusive “Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum” program.
All students will be exposed multiple times to these concepts by the time they complete their studies. This is just one more way that Kettering nurtures and inspires our students into new and innovative business development. This truly is the time for “thinking outside the box.” Are you up to the challenge?
INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP MINOR Students can complete a four course minor that prepares them to work as intrapreneurs (developing new ventures within existing businesses) and entrepreneurs (creating new business ventures).
COURSES: • BUSN372 - Innovations & New Ventures • FINC415 - Entrepreneurial Finance • BUSN453 - Business law • Plus one business elective: MGMT350, ACCT315, or MRKT370
SUPPORT RUNS DEEP TO KEEP THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT ALIVE. Kettering University received a generous grant from the Kern Family Foundation to develop a nationally innovative program focused on teaching entrepreneurship across the curriculum. The grant prepares students to excel in engineering, science and business while valuing and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. It is consistent with Kettering’s mission and enhances our capacity to provide opportunities to prepare for and even create the jobs of tomorrow.
ENTREPRENUERSHIP ENCOURAGES NEW THINKING Kettering’s faculty is committed to exposing students to innovation and entrepreneurship at every level of their education. Students gain a broad understanding of how innovative ideas are spurred and supported by companies, and show great interest in developing entrepreneurial opportunities. While large universities generate a lot of high potential technology, it can take years to commercialize ideas into business. Kettering co-op students can realistically implement their ideas and build a business, which is a big advantage.
Professors title this “patent commercialization,” which involves taking a corporation’s unused intellectual property and converting it into a saleable product or valuable process. It provides companies access to Kettering faculty to develop projects, and it provides them with employees who can duplicate the experience on other projects. For students, it’s simply an excellent experiential learning lab, We’re preparing the next generation of American innovators. Are you up to the challenge?
Along with the grant, Kettering participates in the Kern Entrepreneureship Education NEtwork (KEEN), which encompasses 22 universities and colleges across the country. KEEN aims to graduate engineers equipped with an innovative, entrepreneurial mind-set who contribute to business success and transform the U.S. workforce. The strength of the program is the network of colleges sharing best practices in producing entrepreneurial-minded graduates. Are you up to the challenge?
LIVE, BREATHE, THINK INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP Kettering students can’t get enough of making stuff happen and trying things a new way. You can catch the spirit too and join The Kettering Entrepreneur Society (KES). This student-led organization sponsors business plan competitions and provides support services and seed funding for start-up businesses in an effort to promote an entrepreneurial culture based on innovation at Kettering.
Developed through the efforts and support of passionate faculty, KES has shown tremendous success in attracting students interested in exploring their business ideas and launching viable companies. Learn more at: www.kesociety.com .
Contact Information Office of Admissions Kettering University 1700 University Ave. Flint, MI 48504 Toll-Free: (800) 955-4464, ext. 7865 Phone: (810) 762-7865 Fax: (810) 762-9837 admissions@kettering.edu co-op@kettering.edu finaid@kettering.edu
THE KETTERING ADVANTAGE There is simply no substitute for game-time experience. Kettering gets you connected to learning experiences outside the classroom as early as your freshman year. We connect you with amazing experiences through our traditional co-op program, undergraduate research projects, entrepreneurship and innovation experiences, service learning opportunities and incredible design competitions. Bottom line - you won’t sit on the bench, you’ll be in the game. Like all Kettering students, you’ll benefit from experiential learning, you’ll be challenged to think outside the box, and put classroom theory to work! You’ll have opportunities to change the world,
serve the public, and improve the quality of life as we know it! With our co-op program, you’ll have as much as two-and-a-half years experience by the time you graduate. That puts you ahead of other students who don’t start a co-op or learning assignment until their junior year. You don’t have to wait – you get to the good stuff now! It’s worth repeating: the learning experiences you gain give you the advantage, the Kettering advantage. Through co-op and our experiential learning opportunities you’re a professional and any money you earn is yours to keep. These opportunities give you an edge at graduation too. Companies will be searching for graduates with real learning experiences.
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This school isn’t like any others, not only because of the co-op program, but because of the innovative, creative and driven people you are surrounded by everyday. MATTHEW GAIDICA ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING CEO, PRIME STUDIOS, LLC.
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