The University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering is launching a series of new workshops to give their students entrepreneurial and business skills.
The free workshops, which fall under the college's Gemini Project, range from how to self-promote oneself, understanding office dynamics to hearing how others have developed ideas into businesses.
"More and more employers are saying engineers are too focused just on technology and they don't have broader skills," said Tess Surprenant, senior fellow at the Technological Leadership Institute and Gemini Chair. "It's the broader skills that tend to make or break how successful they are going to be in their careers."
The money for the workshops came from an anonymous donor who was a science and engineering alum, Surprenant said. The donor had struggled in his first jobs, before he became a successful business owner.
Prior to his success, "he was so focused on the science, that he said he was a poor employee because he didn't understand the mission of the company," she said.
The workshops are open to undergraduate students in the College of Science and Engineering. The next workshop on networking will be held on Oct. 5.
