What is MEEN?
The Midwest Engineering Entrepreneurship Network (MEEN) supports the efforts of Midwest technology entrepreneurship institutions through collaboration in educating, supporting, and connecting innovators to the ecosystem spanning the region. The geographic spread, diverse industrial base, and scale of the network facilitates the sharing of resources, connections and best practices, among the institutions involved. MEEN currently includes more than 30 universities which account for approximately $16B in federal research funding.
MEEN was established in 2011 by the University of Illinois Technology Entrepreneur Center and the University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship.
Annual Conference
Annually, MEEN holds a conference aimed at sharing best practices and methods for overcoming challenges unique to Midwest engineering entrepreneurship centers. Each year, a different university hosts the MEEN Conference.
The 2023 MEEN+ Conference will be hosted by the University of Minnesota and held Monday-Wednesday, July 17-19 at the McNamara Alumni Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The MEEN+ Conference will consist of three days of programming. Attendees may register for any combination of the following sessions:
Midwest Engineering Entrepreneur Network (MEEN) Conference
Monday, July 17 | 12:00-5:30pm CST
Tuesday, July 18 | 8:30am-12:00pm CST
Plus! NSF I-Corps Hub: Great Lakes Region Annual Meeting
Tuesday, July 18 | 12:00-5:00pm CST
The annual I-Corps Great Lakes Hub meeting is an opportunity for members of the Hub to discuss progress on grant goals and ways to work together to address challenges in the I-Corps program.
Plus! Inclusive Innovators Summit
Wednesday, July 19 | 8:30am-5:00pm CST
The Inclusive Innovators Summit will bring together under-represented Midwest graduate students, postdocs, and faculty with academic and entrepreneurial leaders to build insights and solutions for inclusive engagement in research commercialization and science entrepreneurship.
If you have questions, please contact Allison McDonald at mcdo0777@umn.edu or Marissa Siero at siero@illinois.edu.
Lodging Information
Graduate Minneapolis | 615 Washington Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN
- Select the exact dates of your stay and the number of adults. The discount conference rate only applies to July 17-19.
- Select Check Availability.
- Select room type. The discount conference rate only applies to rooms with 2 doubles.
- Scroll down and select Book Now.
- On the following page, enter your name and credit card information and select Book Now.
- Note: The discount conference rate should be automatically applied, but if it’s not showing up, select Group Rate (NOT Promo Code) and enter 7922593.
Who should attend
This conference is open to University administration, faculty, and staff working with technology entrepreneurship. Among others, representatives from entrepreneurship centers, technology commercialization offices, and entrepreneurship education are encouraged to attend.
There is no fee to attend this event, but participants are responsible for providing their own transportation and accommodations.
Why you should attend
- Find how other universities are breaking down educational silos
- Hear best practices in engineering entrepreneurship from other universities
- Describe a challenge you are having and learn how the MEEN network may help
- Learn about Midwest opportunities for I-Corps
We look forward to sharing and exploring new ideas and tackling the common problems we all face.
2023 Conference Agenda
Coming Soon!
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Past participants include: Iowa State University, Penn State, Wayne State, Illinois Institute of Technology, Michigan Technological University, Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Akron, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota, University of Toledo, and others.
Past hosts include: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2022), Iowa State University (2019), University of Nebraska (2018), University of Iowa (2017), University of Minnesota (2016), University of Chicago (2016), Purdue University (2015), Northwestern University (2014), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2013), and University of Michigan (2012).
