This week’s episode of “WisBusiness: the Podcast” is with John Garnetti, managing director of UW-Madison’s Office of Business Engagement.
He discusses the office’s impact on Wisconsin’s business community, providing examples of how the OBE works with companies in the state through a variety of programs. It’s existed for more than 20 years, helping to identify the best department or institute for where companies can connect.
“UW-Madison works with a lot of Wisconsin businesses, and we want to work with more … It’s not a question of if we have something we can work on together, but what that is, where that is, and how we can do it together,” he said.
Along with serving as the “front door to campus,” the office also helps coordinate ongoing relationships with business partners.
“We go into all of our relationships, all of our conversations thinking about win-win outcomes,” he said. “How does it benefit the company, how does it benefit the university around shared interests? And if we can make it a win-win-win, where that relationship benefits a larger community, the larger Wisconsin community … that’s a home-run for us.”
Garnetti highlights internship opportunities or co-op programs that give students real-world work experience, as well as companies working with the university on sponsored projects. In one example, the Department of Computer Science’s senior capstone program connects students with companies that have a project or challenge they’re facing in hopes of finding an innovative solution.
“A lot of times, those solutions are actually implemented,” Garnetti said, noting major businesses like Virginia-based bank Capital One as well as Wisconsin-based startups have gotten involved with similar programs at the university.
Garnetti also touches on the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium, “something that’s very specific and beneficial” for Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry.
The conversation spotlights the federally-funded Small Business Development Center on campus, as well as long-running partnerships with established corporations such as American Family Insurance in Madison and GE HealthCare in Chicago.
“UW-Madison has so much to offer Wisconsin businesses, and in fact, you have so much to offer us, so let’s find a way to partner because we want to do it,” he said.
Listen to the podcast below, sponsored by UW-Madison:
