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 Grand Valley State University's latest venture seeks to grow management talent in the region.
The university this spring formed the Center for Leadership & Innovation as part of the Seidman College of Business to provide training for middle managers at businesses across West Michigan.
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 WEST MICHIGAN — A coalition of Michigan universities aims to accelerate the commercialization of technology developed in their labs by developing a broader talent base that can take a concept to the marketplace.
Backed with a $2.4 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., the Tech Transfer Talent Network wants to recruit people with an entrepreneurial or technology development background that can lead or assist startup companies spun out of university research labs.
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GRAND RAPIDS — Once upon a time, if you wanted a Papa John’s pizza, you’d pick up the phone and order one.
These days, customers are just as likely to place their orders with a Papa John’s app downloaded from the iTunes store. The company started taking orders online a decade ago, and online orders represent a bigger slice of the pizza chain’s sales every year.
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WEST MICHIGAN — Enrollments in Master’s of Business Administration programs usually reflect the vigor of the economy — in reverse.
When the economy is robust, professional demands soar. Enrollments decline as only those most intent on climbing the corporate ladder make time for graduate studies.
In a skittish economy, professionals head back to school, hoping new skills and an additional degree will protect them from a layoff, or provide a leg up to a career change.
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 GRAND RAPIDS — With the new Seidman School of Business, Grand Valley State University aims to further cement its connection to Grand Rapids and to the region’s businesses.
While the university’s primary responsibility is to serve the students, there is another group wanting be heard within higher education — the business community. With construction of the L. William Seidman Business School underway, GVSU President Thomas Haas said the investments are strategic in supporting the pipeline of students to the region’s workforce.
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 KALAMAZOO — Few communities ever get the chance to transform their downtowns with an immediate influx of highly educated people, but Kalamazoo hopes to do exactly that with the creation of the Western Michigan University School of Medicine.
WMU plans to capitalize on a perfect storm for medical education with the creation of its new med school in downtown Kalamazoo. If the School of Medicine succeeds, it could prove to be the tipping point in the downtown’s transformation and serve as a much-needed catalyst for entrepreneurs seeking to meet the needs of a new demographic of people in the heart of the city.
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WEST MICHIGAN — Michigan employers now have an online tool to help them attract their “dream team” of college interns who may one day become future employees.
InternInMichigan.com, which is free to users, recently went live statewide around the first of November. In its first three weeks, 165 employers posted 500 paid internship opportunities, and 1,800 college students or recent graduates were already registered and using the site.
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GRAND RAPIDS — Living the American dream is becoming harder for Michiganians without a college degree as the state’s manufacturing-based economy evolves into a knowledge-based economy. But Grand Rapids Community College is pursuing a new strategy to help more students be successful in college and, in the end, be better equipped to achieve that traditional cultural goal.
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 Although slow, the economy nationally and locally is beginning to show signs of growth in employment. This growth is in job opportunities that require some level of post-secondary education.
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