UA’s McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship and Microsoft Announce Annual Social Impact Partnership
TUCSON, Arizona – April 17, 2017 – Microsoft is the 2017 Social Impact Partner for the University of Arizona’s McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship. As part of the partnership, Microsoft is committed to sponsoring and participating in a variety of activities to advance social innovation education at the top-ranked McGuire Center.
“Microsoft is proud to partner with the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship to help support the outstanding entrepreneurship and social innovation education it provides to University of Arizona students and the community at large by engaging them in Microsoft’s social impact stories and encouraging them to make a positive social impact on the world,” said Mike Miles, Sr. Director, Datacenter Community Impact, and General Engineering Manager, Microsoft Cloud & Infrastructure Operations.
Microsoft Partnership Activities
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Speak about corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship in each section of ENTR 485 Innovating: Creating the Future, a required class for all business seniors (approximately 1,000 students each year) that teaches students how to think like an entrepreneur by developing a business plan for an innovative product or service.
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Pilot a special social impact section of ENTR 485 where students focus on developing business plans for social impact projects at Microsoft datacenters. Miles led the class once a month this semester to work directly with students and will be present to judge their final pitches on April 27, from 8 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
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Partner with a McGuire Center faculty member to present a McGuire Innovation Talk on Digital Access, Inclusivity, and Indigenous Populations.
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Sponsor the Microsoft Social Innovation Pavilion and host a booth at February’s McGuire Innovation Expo, a gathering of the local entrepreneurship community.
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Sponsor a $5,000 Social Impact Prize to be awarded April 28 at the 2017 McGuire New Venture Competition. The event features 19 McGuire Entrepreneurship Program student startup teams presenting their innovative new ventures in a rapid-fire rocket pitch competition and trade show. The McGuire Program is an intensive yearlong experience that engages UA students from all fields of study in the process of moving an early-stage idea to a launch-ready venture.
McGuire Center Expanding Social Impact
The Microsoft partnership comes at a time when the McGuire Center, traditionally known for its top-ranked entrepreneurship education programs, is expanding its social impact offerings. This year, the Eller Social Innovation and Eller Economic Development programs were brought under the umbrella of the McGuire Center, which is in keeping with the Center's mission to empower students, individuals, and organizations through world-class education so they acquire the entrepreneurial mindset needed to change business and society.
“The contributions made by Microsoft enrich our students’ experience at the UA, and their ability to integrate social impact into their education and lives,” said Center Director Remy Arteaga. “Having Microsoft’s support and expertise enhances our social impact programs and enables the Center to increase its local, regional, and national impact by providing more people with essential business skills, entrepreneurial and innovative mindsets, and tools for social impact.”
More Information and Interviews
McGuire Center Director Remy Arteaga and Microsoft’s Mike Miles are both available for phone interviews at any time. Arteaga and Miles will be available for in-person interviews April 27-28, while Miles is on campus for the 485 Social Impact Section final competition on April 27, and the McGuire New Venture Competition on April 28.
About Microsoft
Microsoft is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.