University of Wisconsin-Madison is a major catalyst for tech and startup activity in Wisconsin. It's regularly ranked among the top schools for startup founders. And Madison was recently named the best "untapped city" for startups by financial site Fundera, and was ranked as a top 7 city for startups in the Midwest by VC firm M25.
Commercial real estate firm CBRE also ranked Madison the third fastest growing market for tech talent in North America.
UW-Madison is at the center of the city's tech boom, and the university wants to make sure current students know where to go to find entrepreneurial tools and resources to fuel the next generation of tech growth in Madison.
To aid in this effort, UW-Madison is hosting Startup UW-Madison Week from Nov. 11-17. It's part of the broader Startup Wisconsin Week and the first time the university has been part of the annual week-long tech event.
The goal is to host entrepreneurship events and spotlight available startup resources for UW-Madison students and faculty. Staff at UW-Madison’s Discovery to Product (D2P) program are coordinating the campus-wide effort.
"Even at successful universities like UW-Madison, you always have to be building that culture of entrepreneurship and strengthening it," D2P Director Andy Richards said in an interview. "We see Startup Week as a great way to take some of what we always do, and to really highlight it."
While the university is known for producing startup founders and tech talent, the school can't rest on its laurels, Richards said. Each new school year brings new students and faculty who can be introduced to UW-Madison's culture of tech and startup growth.
"You always need to keep letting people know about the resources, the history, the success stories of entrepreneurs in Madison," he said.
Featured events during Startup Week include a talk with Aaron Kennedy, the founder of Noodles & Company; a Q&A with EatStreet founder Matt Howard and PerBlu founder Forrest Woolworth; and the 100 Hour Challenge, where students are invited to pitch a "valuable, innovative or socially beneficial product or service using materials from UW SWAP (Surplus with a Purpose)."
In all, the week will feature more than a dozen events, as well as provide students with office hours from campus groups like D2P, the Law and Entrepreneurship Clinic, and the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
