Education

Jackie Nguyen, founder and owner of Cafe Cà Phê, and her team accept first-place honors in the James and Rae Block Kansas City Startup Awards at the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge

UMKC pitch contest puts Cafe Cà Phê closer to Jackie Nguyen’s big goal; winners range from students to emerging startups

By Tommy Felts / April 30, 2022

The University of Missouri-Kansas City continues to brew innovation — and the return of its Regnier Venture Creation Challenge (RVCC) Friday poured proof, offering more than $88,000 in critical cash prizes to percolating ventures that spill far beyond its classrooms.  “I moved to Kansas City from Washington D.C. over the summer and I started following Cafe…

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Avatar for hire (in a few years): Gamified career platform helps kids explore their future in the workforce

By Tommy Felts / April 26, 2022

It’s a powerful question asked in classrooms every day, Jessica Munoz Valerio said, recalling her own experience with the common prompt and how tapping into and gamifying it could change lives.  “When my daughter was young — as early as 5 years old — she got asked, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’”she…

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Jackie Nguyen, Cafe Cà Phê; Jill and Justin Bertelsen, Bertelsen Education and Crib Coaching; and Risa Stein, SeeInMe

UMKC’s pitch competition showcases ‘real people’ solving real problems with $88K up for grabs

By Tommy Felts / April 25, 2022

Seven ventures remain in a popular regional business challenge that culminates this week with $88,000 in prizes on the line. Many of the competitors: no strangers to the pitch stage. Finalist presentations in the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge are planned for in-person Friday afternoon, followed by an awards ceremony at the UMKC Bloch Executive Hall.…

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Frank James Jr., Pro X, and Quinton Lucas, Kansas City mayor, during an announcement event for the 2022 Pro X student internship

Real-world working: Relaunched initiative will put 500 paid teen interns into KC workplaces

By Tommy Felts / April 6, 2022

A coalition of funders and employers are teaming up to provide 500 high school students across the Kansas City metro with paid summer professional experiences. “It’s really important that we come together as a community for these types of initiatives to make sure our young people are really connecting the dots and moving onto the…

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Dr. Richard H. Linton, president of Kansas State University, board of directors for TechAccel

New K-State president joins KC startup’s board, bringing expertise on food science, academic collaboration

By Tommy Felts / March 23, 2022

The president of Kansas State University has joined the board of directors of TechAccel, an Overland Park startup focused on scientific breakthroughs to produce healthier plants, animals and foods. Dr. Richard H. Linton, who assumed the leadership of K-State following the Feb. 11 retirement of former Richard Myers, comes with an array of experience expected…

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