Work in Mines Arbegast Materials Processing and Joining Laboratory (AMP)
is one example of university research that spins-off into entrepreneurship and
job creation. Innovation in the AMP lab led directly to the creation of the
company VRC Metal Systems, an industry leader in cold spray technology.
South Dakota Mines has been accepted into the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN). KEEN includes
more than 50 colleges and universities across the United States. The institutions
in KEEN’s national partnership focus on one mission: to reach all of their undergraduate engineering
students with an entrepreneurial mindset so they can create personal, economic
and societal value through a lifetime of meaningful work. Becoming a KEEN
partner aligns well with Mines’ efforts to advance innovation on campus that
leads to new start-up companies and job creation.
“Mines has long been a hub of innovation; our alumni
are industry leaders who have gone on to create multiple
successful businesses including Fortune 500 companies,” says Mines
President Jim Rankin, Ph.D., P.E. “Partnering with KEEN adds to the thriving
culture of entrepreneurship on campus and makes us even more excited for the
future.”
The KEEN partnership enables Mines faculty and
students to work with other KEEN universities around the nation such as
Vanderbilt, Duke, Georgia Tech, and many others in developing best practices to
champion the entrepreneurial mindset in undergraduate engineering.
“Becoming a KEEN partner provides recognition for the
successes we’ve had in innovative hands-on project-based learning experiences
and enables us to work with our KEEN partners to further advance the entrepreneurial-minded
engineering education at Mines,” says Rankin.
Mines has a broad range of efforts tied to economic development that support what
KEEN calls the 3C’s: “curiosity, connections, and creating value.” These efforts include the university’s CEO Program, which immerses students in learning to draft a business plan and
culminates in a pitch competition for cash prizes. Mines students and
alumni have won top spots in the Governor’s Giant Vision Competition for the
past eight straight years. Mines’ Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Program also partners accomplished business leaders with students and faculty,
such as Maryam
Amouamouha, Ph.D., who are turning ideas created at the university
level into successful businesses.
“South Dakota Mines has a strong reputation for
producing engineers that solve the world’s toughest challenges. Our graduates
get things done,” says Pierre Larochelle, Ph.D., P.E., department head and professor
of mechanical engineering at Mines. “Becoming a KEEN partner enables us to both
learn from our partner institutions and to share with them how we produce
engineers that are in high demand from companies around the globe.”
Read more about Mines’
partnership with KEEN here.