A team of UW-Oshkosh student entrepreneurs has gathered broad attention lately as it prepares to test a product called Bee Shield, designed to improve survival of honeybee colonies in cold-weather climates.
This story is a fantastic demonstration of multiple resources across the UW System coming together to further innovation.
In 2018, the Alta Resources Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) partnered with WiSys — a nonprofit dedicated to helping inventors protect their intellectual property — to create a unique opportunity for entrepreneurial students.
Our SBDC at UW-Oshkosh, part of the CEI, has been working with Jessica Tarter, Parker Schmidt and Macall Hill, who also are earning Ideadvance Seed Fund funding and mentorship.
“We are extremely proud of our students, they jumped in with their whole hearts, learning from and embracing every challenge while staying nimble and receptive to feedback,” SBDC Center Director Colleen Merrill said. “This ultimately helped the students form a very cohesive team. It’s almost unheard of.”
Bee Shield™ was originally invented by UW-Superior biology professor and apiary manager Edward Burkett and friend and colleague Kenn Raihala.
See how this idea came together and advanced in this video!