DifferenceMaker Program awards startup funds to students for best new ideas

October is Entrepreneurship Month at UMass Lowell, when students will learn entrepreneurial skills from business professionals, faculty mentors and alumni and put their ideas to the test in a variety of competitions.

Students will be introduced to the DifferenceMaker Program at an event on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. Now in its third year, the initiative challenges them to work in teams to develop a product or service that answers a real-world need in business or the community. Teams then pitch their ideas to expert judges, vying for seed money for their ventures. Last year, 70 teams participated in these contests.

Event speakers are expected to include Glenn Morgan ’86, co-owner of SkyWorld Interactive; David Araujo, vice president of Information Systems for DCU; the program’s founder, Steven Tello, UMass Lowell’s associate vice chancellor for entrepreneurship and economic development; and student winners of previous DifferenceMaker competitions. The event will be held in the Perry Atrium of the university’s Mark and Elisia Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center on North Campus at 40 University Ave., Lowell.

In the coming weeks, teams will gain inspiration from the DifferenceMaker Entrepreneurial Speaker Series, which will explore a variety of topics from intellectual property to venture funding. It will begin on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. with a session on how to launch startups in engineering fields.

Beginning this month, student teams may enter one of three semester-long competitions that align with their interests. The final rounds of these contests will be held in December. They are:

• The DCU Innovation Contest, for students who have developed innovative ideas in banking and finance. Last year’s winners took home $1,500 for their idea to develop a hybrid credit and debit card that allows users to build credit without banks assuming risk. The contest is presented by UMass Lowell’s Manning School of Business and DCU.
• The Creative Venture Competition, for students who have developed products, programs or business ventures that provide a social service. Last year, the contest awarded $2,500 to the student whose idea for a web platform called DreamLink. The contest is presented by UMass Lowell’s College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
• The UMass Lowell Francis College of Engineering Prototyping Competition, a new contest this year that seeks the best prototypes for electrical and mechanical devices, software applications or integrated systems.

In December, students will also have a chance to enter the 2015 DifferenceMaker $35,000 Idea Challenge, which will award cash prizes for winning ideas in a variety of categories during the spring semester.

Contacts: 

Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

October is Entrepreneurship Month at UMass Lowell & the DifferenceMaker Program is celebrating with our Season Kickoff Event! We invite current DifferenceMakers, prospective students, friends, alumni, faculty, and staff to join us on October 9^th at the Saab Emerging Technology and Innovation Center on North Campus from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. Below is a list of activities that will take place during the event.

• Student teams will showcase their posters
• Networking will take place between students, alumni, faculty and staff
• The UMass Lowell Mentor Program will be launched
• Three college competitions (Manning School of Business, Francis College of Engineering and Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences) will be announced
• Winning DifferenceMaker student teams; Nonspec, Bright Future Generation, and Support our Students, will discuss their successes since winning funding from the 2013 and 2014 Idea Challenge events
• Refreshments will be served
• And MUCH more!

We look forward to seeing YOU there! For more information, connect with us via email at differencemaker@uml.edu, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @differencemakeruml.

“How can I get my people to be just as passionate as I am?” If every manager actively tried to think this way, the world would be a much different place. Chester Elton, a motivational speaker and author, writes and speaks about how to promote a strong and positive culture in the workplace through thought processes like this one.

DifferenceMaker LLC students were fortunate enough to attend last night’s Young Professionals of Lowell event that featured Elton as the keynote speaker. Elton inspired students and other audience members by engaging them with interactive prompts and questions with rewards such as carrot stuffed animals, wristbands, and a copy of his new book, All In. Elton explained to the crowd how being active in creating a thoughtful, positive, and fun environment in the workplace can make a difference to the overall happiness and productivity of employees.

The most inspiring aspect of Elton’s presentation was how clear it was that he applies these theories and beliefs toward his own life. Upon doing so, Elton’s success in his professional and personal life is due largely to his positive mental attitude and the supportive culture he creates amongst himself and his network of friends, family, coworkers, etc. He is living proof that attitude toward yourself and those around you truly makes a difference in quality of life, the culture of the workplace, and the likelihood of reaching goals and maintaining success.

Here, Elton posed with DifferenceMaker LLC students, MSB LLC students, and Honors LLC students at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium.

To see photos from the event, and to stay in tune with future DifferenceMaker events, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @DifferenceMakerUML.

Last night the second DifferenceMaker LLC event was held on the third floor of Fox Hall. DifferenceMaker LLC students, faculty, and team, Hive, met to discuss how to get involved in the Program, and the benefits of doing so.

Hive, previously named Notoja, was the team that presented at the event. The team created a school enrichment collaboration application, which provides modules for student note-taking, book trading, and discussion groups. They won second place in Innovative Technology at the 2013 Idea Challenge.

Hive presented their pitch to the LLC students and explained how the DifferenceMaker Program has helped them reach their goals as entrepreneurs. They then left room for questions and discussion. Many of the questions that followed were from the LLC students who were wondering how challenging being a DifferenceMaker is. They asked about time commitment, idea generation, team building, and potential for success.

Overall, both Hive and the LLC students benefited from the evening through networking and the in depth discussion of the Program.

Tonight is the next DifferenceMaker LLC event at the 9th Annual Business Leadership Forum hosted by the Young Professionals of Greater Lowell. The event will take place at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium from 5:30 to 8:00pm. The keynote speaker for the event is Chester Elton who is an author, motivational speaker, trainer, and employee engagement expert. To learn more about the event contact Project Manager, Ha Pho at Ha_Pho@uml.edu or connect with us through social media, as listed below.

To see photos from the event, and to stay in tune with future DifferenceMaker events, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @DifferenceMakerUML.

Classes, work, friends, family, homework, clubs… Welcome to college! College is the place where the list of to-do’s never ends, and you are always pulled in multiple directions.

The DifferenceMaker Team understands that. We want to welcome the UMass Lowell Class of 2018 to the DifferenceMaker Program with open arms. Our team recognizes that you are new to college and that there is a world of opportunity ahead of you. We want to share with you the opportunities that the Program has to offer, while at the same time, allowing you to decide your direction over the next four years.

As an introduction to the DifferenceMaker Program, we held an event last night to welcome DifferenceMaker LLC students to UMass Lowell. Students met on the third floor of Fox Hall where they chatted with members of the DifferenceMaker Team about themselves, their experiences, and their views on leadership and what “success” means to them.

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