A Breath of Fresh Air

I attended and participated in an event this evening, the "TechColumbus IdeaPitch and Industry Forum" (http://www.techcolumbus.org/techcolumbus-ideapitch-and-industry-forum). It was organized by the Ohio State university Business Builders Club, a student organization with the objective of promoting entrepreneurship as a career path for gratuates.

The agenda included three separate forums for the students. One forum was the "IdeaPitch" where budding entrepreneurs pitched their ideas for new products and services. This forum was the most heavily attended as it tapped on the energy and creativity of students. Another was the "IT Industry" forum where panelists from various firms discussed the industry with students.

The third forum was the "Industry Forum" which concentrated on discussion about how to market one's self and what companies look at when hiring a recent graduate. I was a panelist for this forum, and must say, I really enjoyed it. I learned as much from the students as they learned from the panel, and it provided an excellent perspective for me as I, uh, " continue" in my career and work with folks that are significantly younger than me.

What impressed me the most was the number of people that were really looking at entrepreneurship as a career path. The creativity, energy, and passion displayed was a breath of fresh air.

How can industry take advantage of this?