Home | Lubar Entrepreneurship Center

Get Involved

Resources for getting involved with entrepreneurship at UWM including competitions, courses, student organizations, and programs.

Courses with Innovation

A network of experiential courses that integrate entrepreneurial thinking into existing curriculum from business to the arts.

Startup Challenge

Students develop ideas into prototypes with the help of workshops, mentorship, and UWM resources.

Southeast Wisconsin NSF I-Corps

Funded by the National Science Foundation, faculty and students work with local business mentors to explore commercializing research ideas.

Social Good Morning

Hosted by our very own Entrepreneur-in-Residence of Social Innovation, Mark Fairbanks. Hear from social entrepreneurs from the Milwaukee community.

Diverse Ideas

This series is co-sponsored by UWM’s by Institute of World Affairs and the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center to feature entrepreneurial speakers from a diverse set of backgrounds in Milwaukee.

Pop Ups

Engaging experiential workshops that encourage creative thinking, innovation, and fosters Milwaukee's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

University Innovation Fellows

A nationwide program run by Stanford University where students train with colleagues from across the country to become change agents for innovation and entrepreneurship on their campuses.

UWM Innovators Expo

A free public event that showcases the newest student, faculty, and staff startups and celebrates entrepreneurship.

Business Model Canvas Mixer

We invite students to an innovative brainstorm session with Milwaukee students, faculty, staff as well as community business leaders. This event is the official kick off to the Startup Challenge and part of Milwaukee Startup Week.

Grow your ideas with us.

The UWM Lubar Entrepreneurship Center is a powerful resource for entrepreneurs, innovators, and anyone who wants to make a positive change in their community. From courses and programs to workshops and networking opportunities, LEC provides the tools you need to transform your ideas into reality, whether you’re a UWM student, faculty, or staff.

Systems Thinking Pop Up Recap

UWM Innovators

Spong3

Leah & Maria Studio

EpiBand

121 SSC student enterprises in seven years

421 participants trained in lean launch

2,902 customer interviews conducted

>3,600 students engaged in pop-up workshops in 2018 – 2019

"I greatly enjoy attending Social Good Morning and always leave with fresh perspectives on social innovation, empathy and the power of connection."

Hameed Kutubi

Civil Engineering, B.S.E. '21

"Social innovations are new social practices that aim to meet social needs in a better way than the existing solutions, resulting from working conditions, education, community development or health. Social Good Morning gives us new ideas so we can create with the goals of strengthening civil society. "

Crissi Bates

Biomedical Science, B.A. '21

I wouldn’t have approached an outside mentor without the Student Startup Challenge. They coached me on how to introduce myself to someone and what questions to ask that would give me the information I needed.

Alexis Nash

Human Resources, M.S., '16

I would not have found my partner, Lu Han, if it hadn’t been for the publicity from the Student Startup Challenge. With his connections and the networking we’ve gained from participating, Tech Goggles is moving forward as a viable product.

Erika Pliner

Industrial Engineering, M.S., '13

The Startup Challenge is hands-down the biggest boost for my business plans. It’s really unusual to encounter that kind of investor at this early stage.

Jesse DePinto

Mechanical Engineering, B.S., '13