The Center for Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University and co-sponsors Mitchell & Richards, Intrust Bank and Delta Dental will host Cameron Evans as keynote speaker of the annual Center for Entrepreneurship Banquet at 6 p.m. Friday, April 30, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita.
Tickets are $35 each, or tables for eight can be purchased for $240. Reservations are needed by 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 28; contact the Center for Entrepreneurship at (316) 978-3000 or www.wichita.edu/cfe.
The banquet is the conclusion of the fourth annual statewide Shocker Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Center for Entrepreneurship, W. Frank Barton School of Business. Winners of the competition, which is designed to encourage student innovation and venture creation by providing a forum for presenting new business ideas to local business and community leaders, will also be announced at the banquet.
As national and chief technology officer for Microsoft Education, Evans is responsible for shaping and executing Microsoft Corp.'s technology and policy strategy relating to U.S. education. He focuses his work primarily on large, complex and strategic innovation for public and private schools in K-12 and higher education, museums, libraries, research universities and academic medical centers.
Evans will discuss how innovation as the engine of global prosperity. He works with schools and universities to leverage Microsoft's broad capabilities, in concert with existing and new technologies, to flatten barriers to learning and outcomes. He will talk about how the world's largest software company spends $9.5 billion each year in research and development to advance technology, increase productivity and spur economic growth and social advancement worldwide.
He will also give insight on where Microsoft is investing in the future, the technology trends driving tomorrow's breakthroughs, how people can get involved, and how Microsoft can help them start a business.
Shocker Business Plan winners receive, for first place, seed money of $10,000 to launch a business; second and third place winners also receive prize money. The top team also receives one-on-one consultations with senior managers in the banking, legal and accounting professions. Previous winners include PetroPower LLC and Quince who have successfully launched and grown their businesses in the Wichita area.