OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – As we celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday, University of Oshkosh students are learning how to help businesses thrive through action.
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Through the UW-Oshkosh’s Innovation Foundry Program, students and local businesses work together for about a half-semester to bring new ideas to the forefront and eventually to market.
“They have a product that we’re moving to different stages of the business to get off the ground and running,” student Corbin Keuhne said.
Students like Keuhne are working as business consultants, researching and marketing products directly with local business owners. Teaching assistant professor John Muraski said the program seeks fresh eyes to help small businesses launch new products.
“By bringing in another set of fresh and younger eyes, [we’re] really pairing them with the business to move it forward, it’s really neat to see,” Muraski said.
One of the small business owners who has felt the impact first-hand is Veteran Sanctuary Acupuncture Clinic’s Dean Hollis, who said it’s helped him launch a new product, and they’re using artificial intelligence to find a focus.
“[Students] are helping me find my demographic, how to market it and how to move through the business aspect of it,” Hollis said. “We have AI formalize some of the documents and develop solid drafts for everything we are developing.”
While some business owners elsewhere may want to do things in-house, Hollis said it’s been fun, adding that students are truly helping make products a reality.
“His mind is a lot more grounded, so it’s fun to work with that,” Hollis said.
And for students like Keuhne, it’s exactly what he loves to do—get real-world experience.
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“We are doing what we love to do, which is entrepreneurial consulting,” Keuhne said. “These guys are here to develop their business, which is what they love to do.”
The eight-week program runs throughout the school year. Click here for more information.
