Each network attendee shared details from their university's programs, highlighting successful initiatives to spur innovation and entrepreneurship.

Jonathan Fay, executive director of the University of Michigan's Center for Entrepreneurship, and Jed Taylor, executive director of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign's Technology Entrepreneurship Center, led a presentation about I-Corps.

Run through the National Science Foundation, with regional nodes and local university sites, I-Corps helps researchers identify product opportunities that may emerge from academic research. The program provides guidance from established entrepreneurs, training in customer discovery and resources to help teams apply for funding opportunities.

Attendees toured the Nebraska College of Engineering's Additive Technology (NEAT) labs, where Prahalada Rao, assistant professor of mechanical and materials engineering, discussed his lab's 3-D printing technology: smart additive manufacturing. Learn more about Rao's work.

Attendees also toured Nebraska Innovation Campus, which is designed to facilitate new and in-depth partnerships between the University of Nebraska and private sector businesses.

Day Two

Day Two kicked off with a welcome from Bob Wilhelm, vice chancellor for research and economic development at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Bill Adamowski, president of Iowa State's Startup Factory, shared lessons learned from Iowa State's year-long accelerator program.

Jed Taylor, executive director of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign's Technology Entrepreneurship Center, led a discussion on best practices for recruiting teams for programs, including NSF I-Corps programs.

Brad Roth, executive director of NUtech Ventures, and Sam Nelson, director of the UNL College of Business Center for Entrepreneurship, shared about the Nebraska entrepreneurship ecosystem and campus partnerships.

Day Two also featured a panel discussion on "How to Engage More Women and Underrepresented Minorities in Our Programs." The panel included Carla Pavone, program director for MIN-Corps and the University of Minnesota's Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship; Malcolm Townes, business development manager for Saint Louis University's Research Innovation Group; Kris Johansen, chief operating officer for Iowa State University's Startup Factory; and Carlos Estrada, managing director of NMotion and entrepreneur-in-residence at NUtech Ventures.

Jonathan Fay, executive director of the University of Michigan's Center for Entrepreneurship, followed with a discussion on "Industry Connect as an I-Corps Node and as a Broader Community."

The MEEN Conference closed out with a tour of UNL's city campus, Nebraska's Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior (CB3) and the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory.