The 707 Hub, a collaboration and innovation space offered through the Office of Research and Innovation, received the 2022 award for Outstanding Student Engagement and Leadership at a university with more than 5,000 students from the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, earning the recognition at the annual GCEC Conference, Oct. 27-29, in Las Vegas. The award was accepted by Kelsey Otero, director of innovation at the 707 Hub.
The annual GCEC Awards are designed to showcase and celebrate the very best of university entrepreneurship. The nine distinct categories allow centers and leaders to select areas where they feel they are making the most impact.
“This honor is well-deserved for Kelsey and the 707 Hub. This vibrant space and its engaged community of innovators has enabled Marquette University to support creative programming for students, faculty and the local business community,” said Dr. Jeanne Hossenlopp, vice president for research and innovation at Marquette. “The 707 Hub is designed as a space for interdisciplinary collaboration, and through its resources and programing, has successfully sparked innovation on our campus. Students have had a leadership role, collaborating with our founding staff — Kelsey Otero and Megan Carver — in creating everything you see in the 707 Hub and building the inclusive culture that exists, which makes this award and recognition extra special.”
The 707 Hub is powered by the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Initiative and is open to all students, encouraging a cross-disciplinary approach to solving problems. Annual programming includes 707 Hub bootcamps designed to help take businesses or impact ideas to the next level; office hours with local entrepreneurship mentors; the Dorm Fund, a Marquette student-run venture capital firm; the Brewed Ideas Challenge, a pitch competition for students who have the next great innovative idea; and Coffee and Conversation monthly discussions with local entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs or nonprofit leaders, among other regular events. Since its launch five years ago, the 707 Hub has awarded $200,000 to student entrepreneurs.
The 707 Hub also supports the Rev-Up MKE small business competition hosted by the Near West Side Partners. Rev-Up MKE provides an opportunity for start-up entrepreneurs to get the support needed to open or expand a business in the Near West Side. Competition finalists present their business ideas to the community during a live pitch event.
The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers was established in 1997 for the purpose of becoming the key junction for university-based entrepreneurship centers to collaborate, communicate and jointly advance excellence in entrepreneurship through the unique role and position of the centers in the academic and business communities. GCEC comprises over 200 member centers and stands as the premier leadership organization addressing the emerging topics of importance to the nation’s university-based centers for entrepreneurship. It has become the industry vehicle by which the top, established entrepreneurship centers, as well as emerging centers, can work together to share information, develop programs and initiatives, and collaborate and assist each other in advancing, strengthening, and celebrating the contributions and impact of individual centers — as well as the overall role of university-based entrepreneurship center.
707 Hub — By the numbers
- 5 — The 707 Hub recently celebrated its fifth anniversary
- 11 — The 707 Hub has supported students from all 11 schools and colleges during the academic year
- 20 — Active and scaling businesses from the Brewed Ideas Challenge
- $2,003.86 — Average amount that Dorm Fund ambassadors invest in each chosen student business
- 8,000+ — Year card swipes of students accessing the 707 Hub
- $197,639 — Funding awarded to student entrepreneurs
