Where the Business of Science and the Science of Business COLLIDE!
Dakota County Technical College is launching BizTech Academy, a two-week intensive summer camp dedicated to three tracks: Entrepreneurship, Imagineering and the new frontier of Nanotechnology.
Designed for high school students, BizTech Academy features a practical, exciting theme: “Where the science of business and the business of science COLLIDE!” The program will be offered June 20–30, 2011, with a follow-up day, Oct. 20, held over MEA break. The cost of the program is $616. Numerous scholarships are available.
BizTech Academy
June 20–30, 2011
Follow-up day, Oct. 20, 2011, held over MEA break
Program cost: $616
Numerous scholarships available
BizTech Academy has been approved for three “transcripted” college credits. These credits may be transferred to colleges and universities across the U.S.
DCTC faculty and staff, along with industry experts, will light the fire of entrepreneurship early in the minds and hearts of high school students who show interest in transforming their talents in the four STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, math—into money-making ventures.
Students who take the Nanotechnology track will learn to create and manipulate matter at the molecular and atomic levels while participating in hands-on labs to create gold nanoparticles and nanowires. Students will also tour the University of Minnesota’s Nanofabrication Center clean room, where they will learn about product development in the nano-scale world.
Students on the Imagineering track will learn more about the general process of innovation and invention. They will discover how to take today’s technologies, leverage their applications, and develop ideas that can be taken to market.
The Nano and Imagineering tracks will focus each on its own interest area the first four days. The two tracks will “collide” on the fifth day to give students an understanding of how Nano and Imagineering intersect in the business world. The tracks will remain together to morph entrepreneurial ideas into business realities. Students will visit technology entrepreneurs to see a complete picture of how science and entrepreneurship combine for economic prosperity.
Over the course of the BizTech Academy, students will be led through a visioning process for a new venture of their design (either actual or hypothetical). They will work collaboratively to: Research opportunities for the venture
- Develop estimates of funding required
- Identify the potential collaborations needed
- Evaluate any regulatory or legal issues involved
- Draft a basic business plan
Students who want to formalize their businesses will be able to file proprietorship paperwork for a Minnesota Certificate of Assumed Name at no additional cost, allowing them to begin their business in the near future.
At the end of the BizTech Academy, interested participants will present their ideas in front of a panel of venture capitalists, who will offer expert feedback. Students who elect to participate in the panel presentation will be eligible for up to $2,000 in general scholarship awards at DCTC. Nano students will be eligible for an additional $8,000 per year in ASSETS scholarships.
- To get answers to all your questions about this brand-new summer program, visit the BizTech Academy homepage
Fill out an online application to BizTech Academy
For more information about BizTech Academy, contact:
- Lisa Bah
Director of Business & Management
Dakota County Technical College
651-423-8602
