Purdue Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion connects Boilermaker entrepreneurs and campus programs

Boilermaker entrepreneurs are invited to come home to campus this fall to join Purdue University President Mung Chiang for a weekend of special programming. The inaugural Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion, presented in partnership with Purdue Innovates and Purdue for Life Foundation, will be held Nov. 9-11.

The Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion is the first theme-based Boilermaker reunion, with one rotating theme each year. This year’s reunion welcomes all Boilermakers with interests in entrepreneurship to connect among themselves, explore how Purdue can help with their entrepreneurial endeavors and explore startup creation taking place at the university by faculty and students.

“Many Boilermakers are entrepreneurs among our faculty, students and vast networks of alumni, making significant and positive difference to society,” Chiang says. “With this reunion event in November, we will strengthen the ecosystem for Boilermaker entrepreneurs by broadening our outreach and creating a network of support, both among the Boilermakers themselves and with our campus.”

The reunion will provide a platform for networking, collaboration and talent resources. Participants also will get an up-close look at how Purdue Innovates, a collaboration across campus and Purdue Research Foundation, is already making an impact.

In April, PRF and the university formed Purdue Innovates, which serves as a conduit for faculty, staff, students, alumni, industry partners, and investors to bring their ideas and innovations to the marketplace. Purdue Innovates consists of two dimensions: (1) intellectual properties such as patents and (2) startup enterprise creation. Leaders from Purdue Innovates will showcase its initiatives at the Entrepreneurial Alumni Reunion and discuss how the organization is elevating excellence at scale for both inventors and entrepreneurs.

“At Purdue Innovates, we are making big investments in the future of entrepreneurship,” says Brooke Beier, senior vice president of Purdue Innovates. “We want our alumni to learn more about this vision, the exciting new opportunities within Purdue’s startup ecosystem and, most importantly, how they can partner with us.”

Purdue is ranked in the top 10 most innovative universities in the United States — a title it has maintained for five years in a row. It is also the only university ranked among Fast Company’s list of the top 50 most innovative companies. In 2022, the Purdue Research Foundation had received 192 patents — ranking Purdue as No. 5 in the world for U.S. utility patents.