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.
- Welcome to 2025: A Year of Innovation and CollaborationAt the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, we are thrilled to welcome 2025 with open arms and big aspirations. As we …
UWM Innovators
Get Involved
Entrepreneurship at UWM
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.
Workshop Offerings
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.
Testimonials

Working with the LEC has provided me a wealth of knowledge and social capital to succeed in my goals as a social entrepreneur. The local social innovators featured at Social Good Mornings have been exceptionally inspiring; hearing their challenges and how they have overcome adversity has given me the fortitude to pursue my goals.

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.
Events
- Feb19February 19, 2025, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
- Feb25February 25, 2025, 11:30am - 12:30pm
- Feb26February 26, 2025, 12:00pm - 1:00pm
- Feb28February 28, 2025, 10:00am - 3:00pm
- Mar4March 4, 2025, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
News
- Welcome to 2025: A Year of Innovation and CollaborationAt the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, we are thrilled to welcome 2025 with open arms and big aspirations. …
- Milwaukee’s Small Businesses: The Heart of Holiday InnovationThe Heart of Milwaukee’s Economy: Small Businesses and Their Impact Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a city renowned for …
- Empowering the Future of Nursing Through Human-Centered DesignThe nursing profession is at a turning point, facing systemic challenges that demand innovation. A recent study …
- Time as Your Greatest Asset: Prioritizing What Matters MostReflecting on Time As we near the end of Q4, time has been a constant point of …
- AkkeNeel Talsma’s Initiative for Expecting MothersDr. AkkeNeel Talsma and Maternity Metrix Dr. AkkeNeel Talsma, a highly accomplished healthcare innovator and founder of …