Education

Nikil Ragav, inventXYZ

New in KC: How Travis Kelce lured Pennsylvania startup inventXYZ (and its team) to Kansas City

By Tommy Felts / January 5, 2022

Editor’s note: New in KC is an ongoing profile series that highlights newly relocated members of the Kansas City startup community, their reasons for a change of scenery, and what they’ve found so far in KC. This series is sponsored by C2FO, a Leawood-based, global financial services company. Click here to read more New in KC profiles. [divide] Nikil Ragav’s journey…

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The Innovator Awards recognize innovativeness and marketability of project ideas in Project Lead The Way's biomedical science and engineering capstone courses. (File photo by Charles Maples)

How intersecting K-12 student competitions build design thinking, inventiveness and an entrepreneurial mindset

By Tommy Felts / October 26, 2021

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Callen Fairchild Zind is communications manager for the KC STEM Alliance. [divide] How do you prepare for a career when the world is changing at such a rapid pace that no one can quite envision what jobs of the future will look like? In…

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The Innovation Studio, Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise and Research Center, UMKC

UMKC unveils innovation studio, inviting students, entrepreneurs to collaborate within $32M research center

By Tommy Felts / September 29, 2021

In a hiring environment where college graduates are expected to possess honed skills for even entry-level positions, a state-of-the-art innovation studio in the heart of Kansas City allows students access to technology to actually build products within their chosen professions. “We have never had a facility like this — with the diversity of equipment and…

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Fall 2019 Elevation Lab Tech Venture cohort with Sally Williams; front row, Jerren Thornhill, Kwinton Scarbrough, Sally Williams, Aaron Monson, Jeremy Williams, and Juaquan Herron; back row, Rodney McDuffie, Zach Davis, James Bailey, David Biga, Jordan Williams, Hassan Ali, and former SBDC counselor Ryan Comeau

Microwave meals to dating apps: How Sally Williams harnesses the power of new products for founders

By Tommy Felts / September 20, 2021

After 40 years in the game, a nearly lifelong career might leave little room for surprises. Yet for Sally Williams, every rise of the sun brings new opportunities, revolving largely around Kansas City’s potential to push the bounds of innovation, she said.  “I have clients who have products in the International Space Station and I…

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Makefully Studios animation

Makefully Studios earns $1M grant for problem-solving game co-designed by kids

By Tommy Felts / September 20, 2021

A Kansas City media company’s commitment to play-based research and development recently helped score Makefully Studios a $1 million government grant for a children’s problem-solving game. “There’s no other word but proud and grateful,” said Anna Jordan-Douglass, founder and chief creative officer of Makefully Studios, which recently was awarded the funds from the National Science Foundation’s…

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