News – Office of Business Engagement

Supported by UW–Madison’s Discovery to Product (D2P) office, startups show resilience in an unprecedented time
While economic uncertainty and the changes to daily life caused by the global pandemic have created countless challenges for business owners across many sectors, startup companies founded by UW–Madison innovators have managed to demonstrate resilience. Since its inception in 2014, UW–Madison’s Discovery to Product (D2P) office has helped launch or grow 56 startup companies led by campus innovators. This number includes 27 existing startups that received assistance over the past fiscal year (July 2019 – June 2020), and 8 new startup companies recently launched during that same period.
American Family Insurance Data Science Institute awards $1 million in “mini grants” to advance data science
Nine teams of University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty and collaborators have been awarded nearly $1 million through the American Family Funding Initiative, a research competition for data science projects. The emerging field of data science is the study, development or application of methods that reveal new insights from data. The successful projects will further research ranging from third-wave artificial intelligence to student entrepreneurship.
UW–Madison leading the way to ensure online micro-internships benefit businesses, students
As we all face the challenges of an economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, UW–Madison is getting #BadgersOnTrack by finding new ways to connect employers with our talented, dedicated students and recent graduates. Businesses and Badgers benefit from our easy-to-post micro-internships and job listings.
A Guide to Internships in the Age of COVID-19
With many college internships canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, a University of Wisconsin−Madison education researcher developed a new resource guide on a host of web-based alternatives for these important on-the-job learning opportunities. Matthew T. Hora, director of the Center for Research on College to Workforce Transitions (CCWT) and an assistant professor in the Division of Continuing Studies, designed the guide for colleges, students and employers.
Webinar: Chancellor Blank on the role of research universities in a crisis
In a webinar held on May 8, 2020 by the Wisconsin Tech Council Innovation Network, Chancellor Rebecca Blank emphasized the important role of major research universities such as UW–Madison in addressing a crisis such as COVID-19. She also recently co-wrote an opinion piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
UW-Madison students, faculty help create COVID-19 app for Wisconsinites
COVID-19 Wisconsin Connect, a free desktop and mobile app developed by UW–Madison’s Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS), provides accurate information, helpful resources and social support to Wisconsinites. Because the app is locally designed, it allows users to both give and receive help within their communities while correcting state-specific misinformation trending on social media.
Chemists at UW-Madison and Johnson Controls look for ways to assess and improve indoor air quality
Chemists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are working to better understand how air quality fluctuations outside of a building affect the composition of air inside. The project is a collaboration between the Department of Chemistry and Johnson Controls, which works in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and smart building technology. Changes in indoor air pollution can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and cancer, and can also adversely affect pregnancies, according to the National Institutes of Health.
UW–Madison researchers lead data science coalition to aid with coronavirus
A major collaborative data science effort now underway at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to aid understanding and response to COVID-19 began with an email from a yoga instructor. Brian Yandell, interim director of the American Family …
Plasma from recovered coronavirus patients tested as therapy at UW Health
A COVID-19 patient at UW Hospital has received the first transfusion of plasma from a local patient who donated it since recovering from the disease. The UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and …
Online platform from UW-Madison matches health care facilities with face shield manufacturers
Hospitals around the world are scrambling to secure enough personal protective equipment to safeguard their workers while treating COVID-19 patients, and manufacturers large and small are retooling their production lines to try to fill the …