Aaron Grace, a Northwood University junior from Flushing, participated in the final stage for Michigan Collegiate Innovation Prize (MCIP) in Ann Arbor on February 13-14. The Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan organizes a yearly competition statewide named MCIP, an entrepreneurship and innovation challenge, with more than $100,000 in prizes. Northwood undergraduate students are competing against a majority of teams consisting of graduate students from statewide universities.This year Northwood participated on a joint project with Angel Enterprise Systems, Inc. The project, which reached the final round of competition, featured “Engine Angel,” which is enterprise management software for use within trucking fleets. The team members included Northwood student Aaron Grace and James Mentele and Douglas Strock, co-founders of Angel Enterprise Systems, Inc. There were over 80 applications from which 22 were selected for the final stage. The final presentation included an exhibition where each team had the opportunity to show the public the critical aspects of their project.
Dr. Lance Lewis, academic dean, stated, “Reaching this level in this prestigious competition illustrates the entrepreneurial strengths of our students and faculty and the value of collaboration between academics and industry. It is a real pleasure to support student and faculty efforts toward this competition.” The team mentors were Drs. Stelian Grigoras and Nasim Hosein of Northwood University.
