WiSys awarded 65 students from Universities of Wisconsin schools with its Innovative Thinking badge for completing the five-week WiSys Innovation On-Ramp course during the 2023 fall semester. WiSys Innovation On-Ramp is an interactive learning course that gives Universities of Wisconsin students a chance to learn innovation skills and advance their ideas—regardless of their field or goal.

To receive this badge, the students completed coursework covering the following topics:

• Identifying a Problem

• Developing an Innovative Solution

• Gathering mentor feedback

• Defining Your Market

• Practicing Your Pitch

The recipients also attended at least one interactive session to discuss and engage with one of the course topics. The credential, which may be added to resumes and LinkedIn profiles, was awarded to 60 UW-Green Bay students, three UW-Platteville students, and two UW-Stout students. Overall, 150 students participated in portions of the WiSys Innovation On-Ramp learning experience this year.

For many students, the learning experience prepares them to learn innovation skills and how to advance an idea. Pitch events hosted by WiSys are an optional way to demonstrate these new skills, and numerous students from Green Bay and Platteville took part. Jessica Hagberg placed first in the UW-Green Bay Innovation On-Ramp Pitch Event in December. Another competition connected to Innovation On-Ramp is the WiSys Prototype Hackathon Pitch Event, which was won by UW-Platteville senior Jayden Trocke.

WiSys plans to expand the program to additional Universities of Wisconsin campuses next year. If you are interested in bringing the program to your university, contact Allee Marti, WiSys Regional Intellectual Property and Licensing Associate, at amarti@wisys.org.

AWARDEES

The UW-Green Bay badge recipients were:

• Ubaldo Barrera

• Eric Betts

• Ryan Brown

• Chasity Bunting

• Wyatt Carlson

• Mason Chaltry

• Sylvia Chang

• Dayja Dickerson

• Jennifer Dominguez

• Halie Dorner

•  Avery Feldmann

• Yadira Fernandez-Hernandez

• Jake Ganga

• Brionna Gofoe

• Brett Hafeman

• Jess Hagberg

• Allie Jaworski

• Brett Johnston

• Brooke Keller

• Cassandra Kleckner

• Julie Koeppel

• Erin LaLuzerne

• Sarah Larson

• Amy Lee

• Emily Lefebvre

• Alexis McCorkle

• Claire Meinecke

• Keaton Moore

• Kathryn Mueller

• Jacob Nate

• Connor Nicholas

• Scott O’Donnell

• Lauren Olson

• Justin Perez

• Jordyn Plinske Burkel

• David Pulukchu

• Tony Raguse

• Grant Rasmussen

• Henli Reiswitz

• Nolan Rick

• Samuel Roche

• Yesenia RodriguezVillalobos

• Keith Rose

• Bryce Schaefer

• Antonia SernaFuentes

• Carter Sewell

• Aden Short

• Christopher Soquet

• Thomas Troyer

• Lolue Vang

• Kylie Verih

• Jordan Vorwaldt

• Stephanie Waggett

• Chloe Werner

• Morgan Wilson

• Hunter Wohlrabe-Fritsch

• Mikala Wollmuth

• Macy Xiong

• Rose Yang

• Yali Zhang

The UW-Platteville recipients were:

• Ben Dorn

• Austin Lee

• Gillie Suarez

The UW-Stout recipients were:

• Ayse Sena Kiray

• Madeleine Shalvis