UW-Madison doctoral student Michael Ciuchta was awarded a 2008 Kauffman Dissertation Fellowship Monday for his research in entrepreneurship, an area of study that the university is attempting to expand within the student body.
Ciuchta was one of 15 students nationally selected for the $20,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
This is another great indication that our students are smart and that they're acknowledged for being creative thinkers,"" Doug Bradley, assistant director of marketing and communications at UW-Madison's Office of Corporate Relations, said.
According to Dave Kaiser, a research and policy analyst at the Kauffman Foundation, the grants are awarded to Ph.D. students writing dissertations related to entrepreneurship.
Kaiser said this could include subjects like economics, finance, sociology and psychology.
The Kauffman Foundation's grant recipient announcement coincides with National Entrepreneur Week 2008, Feb. 23 through March 1.
UW-Madison was named one of the Kauffman Campus Initiative universities in December 2006 and was awarded a $4 million grant over five years to implement programs that will promote entrepreneurship, according to Bradley.
Bradley said part of the responsibility of being designated a Kauffman campus is to generate interest in entrepreneurship outside of the business school, in disciplines such as science and the arts.
Ciuchta said outreach efforts made during his four years at UW-Madison has created interest in entrepreneurship among students on campus.
Last summer, Ciuchta said he assisted in teaching at the 2007 Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Bootcamp.
The bootcamp, Ciuchta said, was a weeklong program targeted at life science and physical science doctoral students interested in a possible entrepreneurial career.
Although students in the program had no previous experience in entrepreneurship, they got to hear successful business owners speak about their experiences and work on projects with others.
Bradley said another university-sponsored program is the 100-hour Wiscontrepreneur Challenge.
He said participating students receive $10 vouchers to UW-Madison's surplus supply store. With the materials purchased, each student constructs an object that they think will be the most creative, will be worth a large sum of money or will prove beneficial to society.
This year's contest will take place April 17-21.
