The ECenter is the co-curricular heart of ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship at UNH. Our goal is to create the next generation of leaders with an entrepreneurial mind-set who can see opportunities and identify creative solutions others have missed, one idea at a time. Although part of UNH, we are independent of any one college. |
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The Latest Happenings from the ECenter |
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With Thanksgiving just over it is a time to give thanks…But this time it has more meaning to me.
This will be my last newsletter update as I am leaving UNH and the ECenter in mid-January to take an exciting opportunity at the African Wildlife Foundation (www.awf.org) based upon my 40 years of engagement in Kenya and Africa. I am joining in a newly created role, Special Advisor for Donor Relations, and will work remote in NH, with travel to HQ in Nairobi and Washington, DC. In this role, they are excited for me to continue to use my innovative and creative approach to build programs and high impact customer experiences. I am really excited as rarely does one get the chance for back-to-back dream jobs!
As you know, I loved the opportunity to build the ECenter up from nothing over the past 7 years to be nationally recognized and more importantly have amazing student impact and outcomes. UNH students have soared!
But the success here is not by any stretch my own.7 years ago Jan Nisbet and Marc Sedam gave me a blank canvas and trusted in my vision to build out a student-centric ECenter that has reached levels of success no one expected.
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Thanks to the amazing ECenter colleagues over the years from Heather MacNeill and Allison Bell to Nichole Jones and DJ Beasley, who all worked multiple evenings a week and weekends to make sure the #ECenterImpact is big and transformative.
Thanks to so many colleagues on campus for their never-ending support.
Thanks to the many, many donors who share the ECenter vision and are as every much a part of our success and every student’s success. Without your support we are but a shell of an existence.
Thanks, in particular to Peter T. Paul for his initial and subsequent funding support and guidance alongside with Harry Patten, the Tasker family, David and John Shaw, Joel Berman, Matt Witkos, Bob Phillips, Buddy Webb, Riverstone, Pierce Atwood, Service Credit Union, and so many more and who have all along the way become good friends.
The HARDEST part of all for me personally is to leave the Rock Star UNH students. Thanks to the amazing hard work and hours put in by so many students every day, all year, to engage in all of our signature programs. It is clear there is an amazing culture on campus for idea creation, company creation, and enjoyment of the process. The energy is contagious!
7 years later and the ECenter is just hitting its stride. I will join you on the sidelines to eagerly await and watch new leadership help to bring the ECenter to the next level.
Thank you for your continued interest and support and wishing you the best for 2023!
Stay curious,
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Ian Grant
Executive Director, ECenter
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Patten Sales & Funding Accelerator Program |
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On September 20th, the ECenter and President James Dean welcomed Harry ’58 and Rita Patten for the ribbon cutting event and the naming of the Patten Family Coworking Space.
The naming of the coworking space was made possible by the generous gift of $1.0 million by Harry Patten and the Patten Family Foundation for the newly launched Patten Sales & Funding Accelerator program (www.PattenAccelerator.com). The celebration event, attended by over 75 students and staff included welcome and thank you comments provided by President Dean, ECenter Executive Director, Ian Grant, and student entrepreneur/co-founder of HydroPhos, Jason Plant ’23.
The Accelerator program, built to increase the probability of successful ventures, will provide sales coaching to ECenter start-up founders/co-founders and be available to both current UNH students and after graduation as young alumni. Among the many facets of the program, the training will focus on building sales skills unique for start-ups. Founders will receive a certification and become eligible to apply for up to $50,000 in start-up loans. The program also includes Basic Sales Certificate Program (in collaboration with UNH Sales) to support and recognize the overall importance of selling and networking skills for all UNH students.
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Every academic year the ECenter hosts an Idea Creation Bootcamp to get students primed for problem solving and innovation. This year, we were lucky to welcome Alex Zorychta, head of Zealot Interactive to lead the attendees in their hands-on activities. Alex started the evening by giving the students a crash course on the science of creativity. This two day experiential program encouraged students from all majors to enhance general skills and establish new forms of creative thinking. The room was constantly buzzing with ideas and the results were very impressive!
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Shaw Innovation Explorers: Second Cohort Takes Off |
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The Shaw Innovation Explorers has had a busy start to the semester this year. The 7:00 am early morning depart for the team build weekend up at Northern Outdoors in Maine was easy for this year’s Explorers. The sunny, bright and warm weather plus the excitement to kick-off the year easily overcame the early hour and long bus ride to The Forks, Maine. There are 15 sophomores in this year’s cohort and after a quick unpack and lunch, the group hit the ropes course which tested not only their ability to get out of their comfort zone in new and extreme situations, but more importantly, to start to understand the importance of teamwork and relying on each other to hoist themselves up the Giant Ladder. Over dinner they heard from CEO Russell Walters who reviewed the necessary innovations and changes required to overcome multiple business obstacles for Northern Outdoors. A night of bonding, laughs, and sharing around the campfire wrapped up the long day. The next morning came early as they hit the Kennebec River in two white water rafts to navigate the multiple rapids and again learn the benefits of paddle teamwork—mixed in with several inter-raft splash fights!
The following weekend, the Explorers headed to the Seabrook, NH to the Yankee Fisherman’s Co-Op. Here, hands on working on the water hauling lobster traps and in the warehouse that included deshelling lobsters and pitchforking bait into barrels helped provide insights into a key New England industry—and how hard it is. More impactful was seeing how in some areas innovation has improved the business like the boat navigation and trap tracking systems, while in other areas, there are still significant volumes of pen and paperwork. From a financial perspective Explorers learned about the impacts of government regulation on the fishermen, while seeing the benefits of being part of a cooperative.
The Explorers Program selected the sophomores last spring based upon their passion and experience in innovation in their personal or academic areas. The fellowship is designed for students to gain a 360-degree understanding of innovation through hands-on, high-impact experiences—mostly away from campus. The program provides introductions and engagement with pioneering leaders in areas that include art, music, technology, science/marine, theatre, municipalities, and New Hampshire and New England native industries. Each student selected to participate also receives a $3,500 scholarship and participates in a 3-day training workshop in the basics of innovation and start-up development.
The Shaw Innovators Explorers Program was developed in close cooperation with David Shaw (’73) CEO of Blackpoint Group, his brother John, CEO of Itaconix, and ECenter Executive Director, Ian Grant.
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ECenter Annual Impact Report - Get Your Copy! |
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Our 2021 - 2022 annual Impact Report is hot off the press!
The ECenter's Impact Report is a comprehensive retrospective which includes updates on all our donor-funded programs, highlights from our unique and hands-on events, results from our high-impact experiential learning programs, and stories highlighting what innovative UNH students have been up to. If you read this newsletter regularly, you know we had the best impact year EVER in the last 7 years!
Please download a copy here: www.bit.ly/ECAR22
Thanks for your support of the ECenter!
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On September 19th-22nd, the ECenter hosted a COLSA Takeover Week at Rudman Hall (COLSA). We partnered with the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture for a weeklong “cohabitation” and appreciate the support of Dean Anthony Davis, Associate Dean Kim Babbitt and their faculty for making this event successful. The program lead was DJ Beasley.
The goal of this event was to ensure that every student who walked into Rudman Hall was aware of resources and programs at the ECenter. ECenter welcomes all colleges, all majors, and all UNH students.
Day 1 Raffle Winner: Sarah Aleisa ‘24, Clinical Laboratory Science/ Medical Technology
Day 2 Raffle Winner: Megan Tyler ‘23, Biomedical Science
Day 3 Raffle Winner: Gabe Rock ‘25, Business Administration Entrepreneurial Studies
Day 4 Raffle Winner: Asante Maronie ‘23, Forensic Science Major
We are glad to have each of our COLSA Takeover winners stop by the ECenter and are looking forward to where we takeover next !
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Offered as part of the Shaw Innovation Explorers program, the second edition of the 3 Day Start-up event welcomed entrepreneurial-minded UNH students seeking to further their business ideas. Students from all colleges and majors were invited to join the Explorers for 3 days of intense ideation presented by 3DS CEO, Erika Haskins on October 14,15 and 16.
This experiential 72 hour-long event is a heavy crash-course tailored to help students understand idea creation, customer discovery, and concludes with presentation pitches of their new and impactful ideas. Teams included Handshake for Highschoolers, ORGanize, Got Food, Electroblend, and Co-Life. From Friday to Sunday, 14 Shaw Innovation Explorers and 19 other UNH students participated in the amazing 3 Day Startup program.
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6 ECenter mentors joined the students over the weekend to assist them in enhancing their thought processes and in identifying potential breakthroughs. On Sunday, the event concluded with team presentations in front of 4 panelists.
“Loved how the mentors and panelists were straight to the point. There was no sugar coating the critique and guidance which made it all the easier to understand. 10/10 .” – Rita Agrawal
THANK YOU TO OUR MENTORS:
Karl Brommer
Christine Carberry
Stephen Kosacz
Dave Hall
Todd Clark
Olivia Austin
THANK TO OUR PANELISTS:
Paul Laird
Dan Waintroob
Joel Nkounkou
Bob Phillips
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The ECenter Fall 2022 Ideathon was held in partnership with Seacoast Science Center. 50 students gathered in person at the ECenter on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4 &5 -a 23-hour event, starting with a kick-off where partner representatives presented three problem statements seeking student ideas for improvement:
- Social Media
- Citizen/Community Science
- UNH Partnerships/Internships
UNH students from all majors and colleges worked around the clock to solve one of the three education/museum industry problems. After the Friday afternoon kick-off, teams worked individually, and then regrouped for breakfast and student presentations at 9:00 am on Saturday morning.
The Grand Prize winners provided their idea addressing all three problems with a microplastics project. They focused on the statement, “To spark curiosity, enhance understanding, and to inspire conservation” and were able to identify specific solutions that kept the mission in mind.
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First place winners $1000
Douglas Coulter ’26 CEPS
John Henkelman ’24 CHHS
Kieran Fitch ‘26 CEPS
Alec Mercer ‘26 CEPS
Second place winners $750
Joseph Cahill ’23 CHHS
Nick Carroll ‘24 CHHS
Katharine Hamel ’24 CHHS
Cooper Thompson ’24 CHHS
Gwen West ‘24 CHHS
Third place winners $500
Anthony Lotane ’25 COLA
Sam Croteau ’25 PAUL
Carson Loughridge ’26 CEPS
Christian Katumba ’25 COLSA
The ECenter team wishes to thank our Ideathon judges:
Jim Chase, President & CEO, Seacoast Science Center
Kate Leavitt, Chief Program Officer, Seacoast Science Center
Dr. Allan Waterfield, Immediate Past Chair, Seacoast Science Center
Thank you to WP Carey Foundation for sponsoring this event!!!
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A Salute of Thanks to Ian Grant's
ECenter Impact
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UNH, ECenter donors, and the ECenter team would like to recognize the work that Executive Director, Ian Grant, has done for the ECenter over the past 7+ years and thank him for his tireless dedication, endless hours, creative innovation, and non-stop support of students. Here are just some of the accomplishments. Wishing you the best on your next endeavor! |
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National Award Recognition
- Winner of GCEC Outstanding New Entrepreneurship Center 2017
- USABE Runner-up Excellence in Co-Curricular Innovation Award 2018
- Winner of Deshpande Award for Excellence in Student Engagement in Entrepreneurship 2022
Student Success-National Competitions
- National Champion 2022 e-fest, Hydrophos
- National Runner-up 2019 e-fest, Smart Wheel
- 6 teams total top 25 in country at e-Fest
- Draper Competition for women undergrad entrepreneurs 3rd place, 2021, HydroPhos
- Draper Competition for women undergrad entrepreneurs 4 semi-finalists 2019, 2021, 2022
- First UNH student team accepted into Y Combinator, SideGuide 2022
- 11 Student companies created that have been funded/revenue 2018-2022
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Student Success-Campus Competitions
- Coached Holloway winners 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
- Coached 28 finalists Holloway
- Coached SVIC winners 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
- Coached 35 finalists SVIC
Designed, Developed, and Launched New Programs (year launched):
- Makerspace at the ECenter 2016
- i2 Passport Program 2017
- Paid Internships at Start-ups 2017
- Endowed Maurice Prize 2017
- UNH Alumni Entrepreneur Hall of Fame 2018
- Idea & Innovation Society 2018
- Student Idea Seed Grant 2018
- Shaw Innovation Explorers 2021
- William and Joan Grant Memorial Entrepreneurship Prize for top two graduating students 2021
- Patten Sales and Funding Accelerator 2022
- Corporate Innovation Co-Op 2022
Raised over $8 million from individuals and corporate sponsors 2018-2022
And of course, too many jump photos that EVERYONE does as part of the ECenter brand!
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Venture Plus Level Sponsors |
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Ian Grant
Executive Director
(603) 862-5470
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Daijon "DJ" Beasley
Marketing Assistant
(603) 862-4959
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Nichole Jones
Program Support Assistant
(603) 862-3011
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