“The Entrepreneurial Mindset: A Business and STEM Collaboration Conference” will highlight how innovation thrives when these fields work together, in a free event running 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, in the Sheldon Hall ballroom.

Made possible by a National Science Foundation Enabling Partners to Increase Innovation Capacity grant, the conference features a keynote by highly successful entrepreneur and Oswego alumnus Joe Kinsella, a panel featuring insights from industry leaders, interactive networking sessions, information about research funding and more.

The free conference registration includes breakfast and lunch for attendees.

Starting with a welcome from SUNY Oswego President Peter O. Nwosu at 8:30 a.m., the event is designed to break down traditional silos between business and STEM fields and foster meaningful industry partnerships that drive collaborative solutions to the pressing challenges of the time and region.

“Our goal is to create a space for perspective-taking and innovation by cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, not simply a business orientation, but a way of thinking that embraces creativity, resilience, and opportunity-seeking across disciplines,” said Kristen Eichhorn, interim dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship and dean of graduate studies. 

“For a public comprehensive institution like SUNY Oswego, this mindset is essential to preparing students for a dynamic, tech-driven economy and positioning our campus as a hub for regional innovation,” Eichhorn explained. “For faculty, this approach opens pathways to deeper community engagement, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the development of research agendas that reflect real-world complexity. By connecting across departments and with local industry partners, we can co-create solutions that are inclusive, impactful, regional, and future-focused.” 

Kinsella’s 9 a.m. keynote will share the realities of entrepreneurship as a journey marked by trial, error and perseverance, and the importance of resilience as a core skill for navigating uncertainty, embracing innovation and leading with purpose. Attendees will leave this session with key steps on how to move forward on projects that will benefit faculty, students and industry.

Kinsella’s journey also underscores the power of intersecting passions and how meaningful innovation often emerges at the crossroads of personal interests, disciplinary knowledge, and societal need. His founding of CloudHealth Technologies was born from the convergence of cloud computing and infrastructure management, two areas he was deeply passionate about, and timed with a seismic shift in the tech landscape.

Organizers expect the keynote to challenge students and faculty alike to think beyond traditional boundaries, embrace interdisciplinary collaboration and stay attuned to what’s happening in the world around them. By aligning their efforts with emerging societal trends — whether in sustainability, digital transformation, or public health — they can maximize the return on their investment of time, energy and creativity. Entrepreneurship, in this context, becomes not just a career path but a mindset for making a meaningful impact.

Partnerships and relationships

Following the keynote, a 10 a.m. industry panel discussion will offer insights into workforce needs, partnership models and what makes university-industry collaboration successful. 

Moderated by Kristi Eck, SUNY Oswego’s assistant vice president for workforce innovation and external relations, this panel discussion will feature representatives from CloudHealth, Upstate Medical Biotechnology Accelerator, National Grid Foundation, Operation Oswego County, Micron Technologies and Constellation.

From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a Faculty and Staff Spotlight roundtable discussion will feature the work of faculty research areas looking to commercialize, expand, and design new curriculum. Staff will also feature resources for students, faculty and industry to engage in this work. Faculty from atmospheric and geological sciences, biology, business, chemistry and physics will be represented.

This will lead into lunch, followed by 1 p.m. student poster presentations and awards.

The event will then highlight the resources available to faculty and partners through SUNY Oswego and the SUNY Research Foundation. William Bowers from Oswego’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will introduce funding strategies, external partnership development and sponsored research opportunities. 

Bowers also will spotlight Oswego’s unique opportunities to develop: 

  • Internships  that connect students with regional employers
  • Microcredentials that upskill learners in high-demand areas
  • Grant opportunities that support interdisciplinary and experiential education 

SUNY Research Foundation representatives will join to share pathways for patenting, licensing and tech transfer, helping faculty and students understand how to protect and commercialize their innovations. 

The National Science Foundation grant, a rare achievement for a business school in a comprehensive public university, is a collaboration between SUNY Oswego’s College of Business and Entrepreneurship (COBE) and the College of Liberal Arts, Sciences and Engineering (CLASE). The main collaborators on obtaining that grant included Michele Thornton and Mohammad Tajvarpour from COBE and Mohammad Islam and Hui Zhang from CLASE, along with previous business dean Prabakar Kothandaraman.

For more information and to register, visit the conference website.