UWM Design Open & Innovators Expo Agenda
Breakfast Bites & Networking
9:00 – 9:45 AM
Grab breakfast and coffee at the UWM Grind inside the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, listen to some music, and meet the people you’ll be spending the day with. Required for workshop attendees.
“Design Open” Opening Remarks & Event Kickoff
9:45 – 10:00 AM
A brief welcome from LEC and campus leadership, followed by the ceremonial ringing of the LEC gong to officially begin the 2026 UWM Design Open. Required for workshop attendees.
Workshop 1: Design Your Life
10:15 – 11:15 AM
“Seeking alignment between the ‘musts’ and ‘wants’ of your life.” This session uses design thinking as a lens to find real alignment between what you have to do and what you want to do. (Capped at 32 spots)
Break
11:15 – 11:30 AM
Workshop 2: Design & Build Your Network
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
“How to humanize your network so it’s people-centered, robust, and resilient.” Learn to build durable relationships rooted in people rather than roles or transactions. (Capped at 32 spots)
Lunch
12:30 – 1:30 PM
Special Recognitions
1:30 – 1:45 PM
A moment set aside to acknowledge the individuals who have made a meaningful and distinctive mark on innovation and entrepreneurship at UWM.
Panel Discussion: Imperfectly Human
1:45 – 3:00 PM
“How to innovate through mistakes and failure.” Experienced innovators open up about the failures, pivots, and hard-won lessons that shaped their paths. Moderated by Chief Innovation & Partnership Officer, Brian Thompson.
Final Remarks & Innovators Expo Kickoff
3:00 – 3:15 PM
Closing words from the Design Open, and another ring of the LEC gong to mark the start of the Innovators Expo.
Innovators Expo & Networking
3:15 – 5:15 PM
A showcase of student startups, faculty research, programs like the Startup Challenge, and innovations being built across UWM.