Kettering University hosted industry leaders from 24 companies across Michigan at the inaugural “Unleash the Intrapreneur” conference on June 3, 2015 in the Campus Center.

An Intrapreneur is a person who works from within an organization to bring value to the company by recognizing and championing opportunities for innovation and growth.

“The goal of the conference is to provide industry leaders an opportunity to evaluate how we are preparing our students to use Intrapreneurial skills. These skills will help them to be effective agents who know how to align their ideas and efforts with the corporate strategy.  We need a dialogue with industry to ensure Kettering’s curriculum meets Industry’s needs,” said Dr. Patrick Atkinson '91, professor of Mechanical Engineering at Kettering University. “We also want our industry partners to leave with intrapreneurial strategies they can start to use the next day in their respective ecosystems.”

The curriculum, which addresses Intrapreneurship, is embedded in Kettering’s Innovation-to-Entrepreneurship Course of Study (i2e-CS), a multidisciplinary elective program at Kettering.

“The goal of i2e-CS is to provide Kettering students with an engaging way to develop and practice an innovation and entrepreneurship mindset within the framework of their STEM classes,” said Dr. Tavakoli, director of Innovation to Entrepreneurship Across the University.

Kettering University is a part of KEEN (Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network), and several Kettering faculty members have received funding from the Kern Family Foundation to continuously incorporate entre- and intra-preneurial elements in their classrooms.  

The day-long conference consisted of breakout sessions and exercises that paired faculty and students with industry leaders to help Kettering receive feedback about the contents of the i2e-CS curriculum and adapt it to better meet industry needs.

A student showcase featuring current students and alumni exemplified how the intrapreneurial mindset can be implemented.

“This conference is another opportunity to bridge the gap between the needs of industry and the education that Kettering provides,” Atkinson said. “From the very moment that our graduates leave campus to work in industry, we want them to immediately meet the innovative and intrapreneurial needs of their employer in addition to providing the technical expertise.”