Lisa Rabaut, Innovation and Strategic Growth Project Manager, reimagined this event and implemented a pre-screening review, aligned ideas against the strategic plan, master plan, and college initiatives, and developed a robust 2-hour pitch event on Thursday, April 23 during Northern Michigan Startup Week.
Judges included Lisa Rabaut, Camille Hoisington (Traverse Connect), Josh Hart (Ford Insurance, original OOPs founder), Jayne Mohr (NMC Foundation) and Kyle Morrison. The format was 5 minute pitch/5 minute Q&A.
A total of 19 submissions were received from students, faculty and staff. Of those 19, the top 6 were selected to move on to the pitch competition. All 6 received some funding, described in more detail below.
Prescribing the Arts: A Creative Pathway Supporting Student Success
Applicant: Liz Celeste, Dennos Museum Curator of Education and Exhibitions
Amount Requested: $3,600
Amount Awarded: $2,600 (the judges would like this project to receive input from students before implementation)
Alignment: campus vibrancy, student belonging, experiential learning, Dennos enhancements
Instructional Virtual Reality (VR) Systems for Biomedical Engineering Tech Training
Applicant: Joe Deater, Adjunct Engineering Tech Faculty Member
Amount Requested: $6,000
Amount Awarded: $6,000 (enough for 2 VR goggles and a 3-year subscription)
Alignment: future-focused education with a focus on technology, meeting regional employer needs (improved student outcomes), engineering tech PESR opportunity
All Hands on Tech: Great Lakes Water Studies Voyage on Inland Seas Schooner Alliance
Presenter: Matt Hirsch, Great Lakes Water Studies Institute Coordinator
Amount Requested: $4,000
Amount Awarded: $4,000
Alignment: GLWSI enhancement/improvements (PESR, Strategic Plan), opportunity for credentialing (Marine Center), meeting national employer needs (skills expected by employers [sea time]), community partnership with Inland Seas Education Association
NMC Flight Team
Presenter: Alex Modryznski, Aviation student
Amount Requested: $3,976
Amount Awarded: $8,000 (this project was awarded more than requested because the students provided a very lean budget in terms of fuel, food, and lodging costs; the judges felt a more robust budget would help cover all costs and potentially allow more students to participate)
Alignment: national program recognition, potential recruitment opportunity, elevate our aviation program (enrollment targets from previous strategic plan, NMC Next)
Hawk Owl Uncrewed Competition Team
Presenter: Tony Sauerbrey, UAS Coordinator
Amount Requested: $10,042
Amount Awarded: $10,042
Alignment: national program recognition, potential recruitment opportunity, support of the NorthSky Consortium (partnerships, regional needs)
Reaching Adult Learners with CollegeAPP and data-informed decision-making
Presenter: Kelly Yauk, PRMC Marketing Director
Amount Requested: $10,440
Amount Awarded: $10,440
Alignment: adult learner recruitment, blending of credit and noncredit, PRMC enrollment strategies
In total, OOPs for Education and the NMC Foundation provided $41,082, leaving approximately $9K for other activities prior to the end of the fiscal year. Lisa really raised the bar and set the tone for leveraging these funds to support college initiatives moving forward. She did a great job!