Innovation


Veterans-Turned-Entrepreneurs Demonstrate Initiative, Courage, Dedication

UConn Today – Keri Yonika, an occupational therapist and a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, has both the knowledge and passion to help young children get a good start in life.

She loves her work with neurodivergent pre-schoolers, but not the constant pressure to see more clients. Yonika dreams of owning her own practice and running it with a client-centered approach.

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Innovation Quest Crowns Three New Champions

UConn Today – From the time he was a young child, Laron Burrows always knew he would be an entrepreneur.

“In the third grade I sold baseball cards and trinkets,” said Burrows, a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering. “At age 12, I was developing a way to remove oil from seawater. I always thought science and engineering innovations provided great opportunities for entrepreneurship.”

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Brianna Regine Walston ’17, Founder of Strategic Communication Agency, Named Young Entrepreneur of the Year

UConn Today – Entering her senior year at UConn, alumna Brianna Regine Walston ’17 (CLAS), had a great career option.

She was in the midst of completing a very successful public relations internship in New York City, and the company was eager to offer Walston a permanent job after graduation.

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Otis Innovation Hackathon Prompts Undergrads to Leverage Emerging Tech

Aditya Chandraker, Niteesh Saravanan, and Priyanshu Agrawal holding their prize at the Otis Hackathon in Storrs, from left to right.
Left to Right: Aditya Chandraker, Niteesh Saravanan, and Priyanshu Agrawal hold their prize at the Otis Hackathon in Storrs. (Contributed Photo)

World’s leading elevator company gives winning participants $10,000 in scholarships

Imagine using your voice to summon an elevator—or several of them—to take you and your colleagues up to a meeting or asking the elevator for personalized directions to a nearby restaurant that could then be transferred to your cell phone.Continue Reading



Connecticut Magazine Honors CCEI’s Jennifer Mathieu as Influential, Inspirational

Portrait of Jennifer Mathieu.
CCEI executive director Jennifer Mathieu, above, in the Graduate Business Learning Center in Hartford. Mathieu was recently named one of Connecticut Magazine’s 40 under 40 (Nathan Oldham / UConn School of Business)

As the executive director of the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CCEI), Jennifer Mathieu has helped some 500 startups thrive.Continue Reading


As the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Celebrates its 15th Anniversary, Dozens of Startups Excel

CCEI celebrates their 15th anniversary with a group photo of Kat Savinelli, Mehgan Williams, Michaela Hartl, Jen Mathieu, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Dean John A. Elliot, Alycia Chrosniak, Rory McGloin, and Rachel Borden, from left to right.
CCEI celebrates their 15th anniversary this year. Left to Right, Kate Savinelli, Mehgan Williams, Michaela Hartl, Jen Mathieu, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Dean John A. Elliott, Alycia Chrosniak, Rory McGloin, and Rachel Borden. (Defining Studios)

When Jeremy Bronen ’20 [ENG] and Timothy Krupski ’15 [ENG] ’21 MS [ENG], ’21 MBA launched their business in 2020, the idea of raising $50,000 in funding seemed almost impossible.Continue Reading