Global Entrepreneurship Speaker Series
Interested in becoming a Global Entrepreneur?
Come listen to and rub elbows with Entrepreneurs from all over the world!
The Global Entrepreneurship Speaker Series (GESS) is offered only during the fall semesters. These seminars afford students the opportunity to earn a Professional Development Certificate from the School of Business while learning from international entrepreneurial leaders. It is a great resume builder and will enhance the understanding of global business.
This certificate is available to all graduate and undergraduate UConn students. Students may earn a certificate every fall semester.
It is achieved by: Attending at least 3 out of 4+ GESS lectures offered during the same fall semester. Attendance/ID swipe will occur at each event. Please pre-register for each event you would like to attend here.
GESS 2018 Schedule
Please take note – Location and time will change with each presentation.
Sponsored by:
- Werth Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER)
- Opim Innovate Lab
- International Business Association
Friday, September 28, 2018|1:00-2:30 p.m. OPIM Innovate Lab, BUSN 391
Register Here
Speaker: Colin Keogh of CALT
CALT stands for Computer Aided Life Technology. We develop and design decentralizing technologies such as modern tooling systems like 3D printers, as well as vertical farming systems, and communication technologies like educational VR (Virtual Reality) apps. We imagine decentralisation to be a major trend in the upcoming decades and as such we focus our efforts on technologies to empower people.
We are currently taking part in the Stanley Black and Decker + Techstars Additive Manufacturing accelerator in Hartford, Connecticut developing a brand new 3D printing process. This process will give unparalleled scalability to the printing field, while also allowing the creation of low cost off grid machines for on site production. A founding team of 3 engineers (above) are utilising their expertise in the 3d printing and design sectors to revolutionise the 3D printing field.
Colin Keogh
Colin is an award-winning highly driven & innovative Engineer, with qualifications & experience in innovative technologies in the Mechanical engineering, R&D, Additive Manufacturing and Innovation sectors. He is working with CALT Dynamics to revolutionise the 3D printing industry. He has background in leading new research in the Energy, Environment, 3D Printing and Innovation fields at University College Dublin, with a focus on technology development, advancing additive manufacturing, 3rd world social Entrepreneurial applications of additive manufacturing and integrating advanced technologies into social, environmental, philanthropic and entrepreneurial activities. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Energy Systems Engineering from UCD. He is currently finishing a PhD in engineering in UCD with SFI, SMARTlab and Science Gallery International, focusing in the area of Innovation Methodologies, to improve the engagement and impact in the innovation area. He cofounded a social enterprise in 2014, The Rapid Foundation, which aims to disperse 3d printing technology to 3rd world locations, provide training and support to communities in Ireland and overseas, which was highly impactful resulting in him being named as one of Forbes 30 Under 30 for Europe in Science and Healthcare, as one of JCI’s Ten Outstanding Young People for 2017, Irish Early Career Awards IT & Tech Professional of the Year 2017 and as a 2017 Nissan Generation Next Ambassador.
Tuesday, October 2, 2018|5:30-7:30 p.m. School of Business Boardroom, 3rd Floor
Speaker: Nithin Eapen of Arcadia Crypto Ventures and David Noble, UConn Werth Institute
Register Here
**This is a joint presentation with Hanover Insurance Blockchain Builders Challenge**
Nithin Eapen is a well-known crypto-evangelist and the Chief Investment Officer at Arcadia Crypto Ventures( www.arcadiacrypto.com).
Besides taking care of the family office crypto portfolio, he is an advisory board member to multiple icos, speaker at various blockchain conferences, trader, and investor.
He is the creator of the Belpointe Crypto Index (Bloomberg Ticker: CRYPTO) and holds a degree in Engineering from The Wright State University in Ohio as well as a Masters in Financial Mathematics from the University of Chicago.
Prior to joining Arcadia, Nithin was the founder and President of Chance River Technology, a boutique Software Services provider firm based in Stamford, CT.
Nithin held a series 7, 3 and 63, while at UBS where he worked as a market maker in exotic equity derivatives. Prior to trading, Nithin was a developer and built trading systems at UBS, RBS and Bank of America.
Alongside dabbling in digital assets, Nithin enjoys playing poker, is an avid squash player and a movie buff.
David Noble is the first Director of the Peter J. Werth Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Institute and Assistant Professor in Residence in the UConn School
of Business. Prof. Noble teaches courses in Strategic Policy, Entrepreneurship,
and Organizational Behavior, enhancing educational outcomes through the use of experiential education and non-academic partnerships. He leads the University of Connecticut’s Women
xCITE Conference, is a member of the UConn CIBER Advisory Board, and is the founder of a blockchain startup. David has a B.S. in Political Science from Northeastern University, a J.D.
from the University of Miami School of Law, an MBA from Elon University, and a Ph.D. in Management from the University of Alabama.
Monday, November 26, 2018|5:30-7:30 p.m. School of Business Boardroom, 3rd Floor
Speaker: Peter Barkman, CEO and CoFounder of Palmu
(This event will immediately be followed by the “GetSeeded” event sponsored by the Werth Institute and CCEI.)
Peter has 20 years experience in service business development and concept creation and -management.
During his career he has built several professional services businesses and has worked as a consultant with clients ranging from multinationals (Vodafone, Nokia, Nissan Konecranes, Suunto) to start-ups (Igglo, Habbo hotel).
Peter’s core area of expertise is creating and developing new businesses 360°. He has managed multinational teams ranging from 3-100 people.
Peter has held operative management responsibilities in several companies and internationalization projects and has a wide understanding of challenges in an international context. He currently sits on the board of 3 companies outside of the SOLITA Group and is a part-owner in 4 including Inventure, a Helsinki based VC.
In his spare time Peter reads, enjoys his family and coaches girls basketball.
**(NEW TIME)** Friday, November 30, 2018|1:00-2:30 p.m. School of Business Boardroom, 3rd Floor
Speaker: Niklas Kiviluoto, GoodPurpose
Niklas is the Co-founder and CEO of GoodPurpose, a next generation platform transforming the way sustainability is done in companies around the world. 
Sustainability, or CSR, has been done for decades. Still there are some fundamental issues, like fragmentation, lack of transparency, comparability and exclusivity, which GoodPurpose aims to solve.
Niklas graduated with a Masters degree in marketing in 2006, at the age of 21. The first half of his career he’s spent in academia, the second in business. He earned a Ph.D. in growth entrepreneurship, studying the growth and profitability of Finnish high-tech startups. At Stanford, while doing post-doc research in the digital transformation in media, he was introduced to design thinking at the dSchool. Since then, he’s been a strong advocate and practitioner of design-led methods for developing products, services, and businesses. Obsessed with ensuring the customer/consumer is heard and that a product/service solves both a real and the right problem. His former clients include high-potential tech startups as well as Fortune 500s in Europe and the US.