Innovate U, a student-led entrepreneurship challenge, returns to Des Moines Area Community College’s (DMACC) Carroll Campus tomorrow (Friday), and the public is invited to join in watching these future business leaders make their presentations. Innovate U is hosted jointly by DMACC, the Carroll Chamber of Commerce, Carroll County Growth Partnership (CCGP), and Availa Bank. Lisa Irlbeck, the marketing director at Availa Bank, first encountered Innovate U as a mentor in Council Bluffs. Her experience there inspired her to bring the program to Carroll. She says it is a great opportunity to see these young people’s creativity.
Students from Carroll, Kuemper, Glidden-Ralston and Coon Rapids-Bayard are scheduled to participate tomorrow (Friday). Chamber Business Development Director Roseanne Nees says these students get partnered with local leaders to help them throughout the day.
Group presentations are scheduled from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the DMACC James and Marjorie Knott Commons, and Irlbeck says this portion of Innovate U is open to the public.
Innovate U was created to inspire students to pursue entrepreneurship, and Irlbeck says she is excited for when one of the former participants opens their own business.
This will be the fourth year Innovate U has been hosted in Carroll, and organizers are looking for ways to incorporate more students from schools in the region. Again, the public is invited to watch the student presentations at DMACC from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow (Friday).
