Marquette Today

Campus News and Events

Submit news

Menu

  • Campus News
    • Top News for Students
    • Top News for Faculty & Staff
    • Magazines at Marquette
    • Campus Alerts
  • Archives
  • Submit news
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • Contacts
  • @MarquetteToday
  • Events Calendar
  • Topics
    • Community Engagement
    • Diversity
    • Innovation
    • Master Planning
    • Marquette Momentum
    • Research
    • Strategic Planning
  • January 27, 2023

First M-Prize Challenge sparks innovation with Marquette students

December 19, 2022

Marquette students not only learn about innovation through lectures, but also with a front-row seat through the long-term partnership with Kohler Co. Recently, Kohler and Marquette joined forces to offer entrepreneurial-minded students a chance to develop their own innovative ideas and compete in the first-ever M-Prize (Marquette Prize) Challenge.  

A spin-off of Kohler’s internal Innovation for Good I-Prize Challenge, which invites Kohler associates to propose new products and business solutions with a social purpose, M-Prize gave students a chance to innovate on a specific topic. This year’s theme, Designing for Inclusivity, encouraged students to consider aging populations as they worked in teams to develop unique ideas in the Kitchen & Bath (K&B) arena.  

“It was an absolute joy to help students from Marquette experience a dose of real-world innovation and social advocacy. As both a professional in the innovation space and a Kohler Business Resource Group leader, I knew part of what makes Kohler a great place to work was on full display in this experience,” said Kathryn Clouse, senior manager of innovation.

About the M-Prize Challenge 

The six-week M-Prize Challenge included a diverse group of 25 Marquette undergraduate students from six colleges of study including Business, Engineering, Communications, Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences and Nursing. As these multidisciplinary teams did not have preconceived ideas about what is, or what is not, possible in inclusive kitchen and bath design, M-Prize provided an ideal environment for creative ideas to be ignited. 

Efforts kicked off with an innovation session at Kohler’s headquarters to learn more about this year’s theme and why designing for inclusivity is important. Students then received coaching and worked in teams to gain a first-hand understanding of physical challenges the aging population faces, plus how to brainstorm and pitch innovative solutions. With support from Kohler’s K&B Advanced Development team, as well as experts in marketing, finance, innovation coaching, corporate engagement, and Marquette’s Office of University Relations, each team competed to win the coveted M-Prize.

Final presentations took place on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at Marquette’s 707 Hub, which is powered by the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Initiative, in front of a panel of executive judges which included Laura Kohler, senior vice president of HR, stewardship, and sustainability, and Manolo Caballer, vice president of engineering and advanced development in kitchen and bath, from Kohler; Dr. Michael R. Lovell, president of Marquette; Dr. Kris Ropella, Opus Dean of Marquette’s Opus College of Engineering; and Dr. Jill Guttormson, dean of Marquette’s College of Nursing.

Winning students from two teams were:

  • Neha Kurpad, cognitive sciences
  • Nicole Anderson, corporate communications and advertising
  • Marian Fronseca, engineering
  • Isabelle Holmes, innovation and entrepreneurship and peace studies
  • Andrea Nkansah, accounting and information system
  • Katherine Randsen, biochemistry
  • Karen Ayala-Hernandez, biomedical engineering

The M-Prize Impact

The M-Prize Challenge gave students an opportunity to not only innovate, but also to build relationships and engage with academic and industry leaders. Both Marquette and Kohler strongly value the importance of social purpose and working together for the greater good. The M-Prize Challenge gave students a chance to build on those values while applying their creativity to a real-world situation. 

“The M-Prize challenge provided an exceptional cocurricular opportunity for our students to develop skills sought by employers, to apply their passion for inclusive product development, and to join a community of innovators – peers and mentors – driven to be the difference. Marquette believes in nurturing and cultivating collaborative, holistic, and mutually beneficial and sustainable partnerships with companies – our mission-aligned relationship with Kohler is a prime example. We look forward to next year’s M-Prize challenge,” said Dr. Kalpa Vithalani, executive director of technology transfer at Marquette.

Photo gallery

Filed Under: For Faculty/Staff, For Students, Home - Featured Stories, News

More news

Klingler College of Arts and Sciences student named UMOS Hispanic Youth of the Year

January 27, 2023

Fireside chat on equity and excellence in education, Feb. 23

January 27, 2023

Computer Science professor, Ph.D. student to present at national AI conference

January 26, 2023

W-2 tax forms are now available online via MyJob

January 26, 2023

Help Marquette compete against other AJCU Schools; Register for the Go Move Challenge kicking off Feb. 1

January 26, 2023

Lenten Retreat in Daily Life open for registration

January 26, 2023

Microsoft retiring Internet Explorer web browser

January 26, 2023

Civic Dialogues hosting ‘Building Bridges: How young people can solve the climate crisis,’ Feb. 2

January 26, 2023

More news

Quick Links

  • Faculty/Staff News
  • Student News
  • Magazines at Marquette
Submit news

Featured Stories

From ankle joint pain to digital archives: Six participating faculty research projects funded through Office of the Provost 

From ankle joint pain to digital archives: Six participating faculty research projects funded through Office of the Provost 

By Katie Darragh, communication intern in the Office of University Relations at Marquette University    To provide non-tenure-track faculty access to funds for research and scholarship, the Office of the Provost annually allocates $10,000 to be distributed to full-time participating faculty for research activities during the 2022-23 academic year. These funds are the result of the […]

We Are All Marquette: A Q&A with Haggerty Museum of Art Director Susan Longhenry  

We Are All Marquette: A Q&A with Haggerty Museum of Art Director Susan Longhenry  

By Katie Darragh, communication intern in the Office of University Relations at Marquette University  Since opening in 1984, the Haggerty Museum of Art has been a teaching museum, seeking to use its diverse collection to connect people — on campus, in the community and around the world — to art, ideas and one another. Through […]

Marquette Business’ new home has sustainability in its DNA

Marquette Business’ new home has sustainability in its DNA

By Melissa Barclay, senior communication specialist and Kevin Keenan, communication intern in the Office of University Relations at Marquette University At the start of the spring semester, Dr. E. J. and Margaret O’Brien Hall was officially christened the new home for Marquette Business and innovation leadership programs. The new $60 million, 100,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility is […]

Read more featured stories.

Safety

MUPD warns to protect your delivered packages this holiday season

LIMO safe rideshare service to become EagleExpress in January, rides requested via app

Marquette launches new holistic safety website

Human Resources News

Help Marquette compete against other AJCU Schools; Register for the Go Move Challenge kicking off Feb. 1

New My Wellness opportunity: Earn points for 30 minutes of activity each day

Learn more about our new employee assistance program, LifeMatters

Research

From ankle joint pain to digital archives: Six participating faculty research projects funded through Office of the Provost 

Engineering professor receives phase two approval for $4 million funding for Department of Energy grant

Marquette faculty and staff research grants from June/July 2022

Awards & Accomplishments

Klingler College of Arts and Sciences student named UMOS Hispanic Youth of the Year

Adjunct instructor named to Milwaukee Business Journal’s 40 Under 40

Marquette Latinx studies professor named UMOS Hispanic Man of the Year

Marquette UniversityCopyright 2022 by Marquette University
MARQUETTE.EDU // A TO Z