Lawrence University student and faculty representatives will be among the participants at “Schumptoberfest 2012,” a conference dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship in the liberal arts curriculum. Grinnell College hosts the third annual event Oct. 13-14.
Sid Dayal, a 2011 Lawrence graduate and senior Dan O’Connor, two of the founding members of Flickey,™ discuss their experience, achievements and challenges in launching a business enterprise designed to enable consumers to download movie rentals from dedicated kiosks onto USB drives. The venture grew out of Lawrence’s “In Pursuit of Innovation” course taught by Assistant Professor of Economics Adam Galambos, Professor Emeritus of Physics John Brandenberger and lecturer in economics Gary Vaughan. The Flickey™ team also includes junior Nate Fearing and senior George Levy.
Junior Babajide Ademola and senior Patrick Pylvainen will present on their research on the role of entrepreneurship in economic development in Sierra Leone. Ademola and Pylvainen were part of a team led by Professor of Government Claudena Skran that traveled to Sierra Leone this summer to study small ventures that have successfully brought economic development to some communities in the face of overwhelming odds. Pylvainen is basing his Senior Experience on this research with support from the Mellon Senior Experience Fund.
Galamabos and Associate Professor of Economics David Gerard will join the students at the conference.
Schumptorberfest is the brainchild of Gerard, who founded the event in 2010 at Bjorklunden. It is named in honor of 20th-century Austrian-American economist Joseph A. Schumpeter who advocated for change-oriented, and innovation-based economics.
Lawrence hosted Schumptoberfest 2011, attracting participants from a dozen campuses in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and beyond.
The annual conference is sponsored by the ACM through a Faculty Career Enhancement (FaCE) Project grant.
The “Pursuit of Innovation” course helped launch Lawrence’s own program in innovation and entrepreneurship in the fall of 2008. The program has since expanded to include other courses and course modules in economics, government, physics, studio art, the conservatory of music and theatre, directly benefiting more than 250 students from a wide range of majors.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a world-class conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,450 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries. Follow Lawrence on Facebook.
