Made at Michigan: Student ventures highlighted in new report

A high-tech cap that lets you control technologies with your mind. A rock band school for girls in Detroit. A biochip that can quickly give doctors vital information with only a drop of blood. These are just three of the more than 80 ventures that University of Michigan students across campus are pushing forward with support from the institution’s top-ranked entrepreneurial programs. Details of many more student startups and endeavors are published in a first-of-its-kind report: Made at Michigan.

The report, available as a print magazine-style publication or a sortable web version, shines a bright spotlight on ventures over a broad range of disciplines, including for-profits, social ventures and innovative new products and services with market potential.

“In the last two years, we have created a minor in entrepreneurship open to all undergraduate students and added new entrepreneurship experiences and competitions,” said U-M President Mark Schlissel. “These programs have fueled the ambition and entrepreneurial spirit of students across campus—with many forming ventures showcased in this report.”

The university offers more than 120 entrepreneurship- and innovation-related courses to undergraduate and graduate students. In the past four years, enrollment has exceeded 10,000. U-M was also recognized for making the greatest upward leap of any higher education institution in the 2016 Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine ranking, and named in the top five for graduate entrepreneurship education.

In addition to the minor program, more than 15 centers and programs focus on entrepreneurship education, student challenges and community events. There are also more than 30 student organizations with an entrepreneurial focus.

The Made at Michigan report was produced by Innovate Blue, along with a network of programs, centers and institutes that help support U-M’s student innovators and entrepreneurs.