Starting Gate, WMU's business accelerator program, is the driving force behind merging WMU Entrepreneurship with regional and local economic development efforts. Students participate in workshops led by community leaders on topics ranging from marketing to patent law, and everything in between. The southwest Michigan Small Business Development Center, located within the Haworth College of Business, also provides small business assistance for companies within the program. Students are also encouraged to participate in and attend community events focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship, such as Pitch Zoo, Startup Zoo, and Startup Grind.
The WMU chapter of WMU’s Parkview Engineering Campus sits in the Institute middle of Industrial Engineers (IIE) recently hosted the 2014 IIE Great Lakes Regional ConferenceBusiness and Technology Park, an event that brought together the top IE students from Michigana high-tech business development space. Home to 50 companies in 10 years, Indiana, Ohioin a variety of industries including life sciences, advanced engineering and Kentuckyinformation technology. The theme of companies are given the conference was IIE: Where Visionaries Become Innovators. Keynote speakers came from a variety of industries and entrepreneurial backgrounds, each offering their own advice chance to the students. Students attended sessions from industry leadersinteract daily with staff, participated in design challenge activities, and networked with students and research faculty from other universitiesthat impresses a culture of collaboration between the university and surrounding businesses.
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