Guest column: UW-Madison in a semester of COVID

We’re on the cusp of what is sure to be one of the most unusual fall semesters in our university’s history…

At this stage, roughly 45 percent of classes will have some in-person component to them. If students want a course schedule with classes designed to be entirely remote, almost all have had the opportunity to select these courses…

We have followed all medical and public health guidelines with the protocols we’ve put in place across campus, including mandatory face coverings and physical distancing, enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols, and changes to physical spaces.

Click here to read Chancellor Rebecca Blank’s full column.

New "WisBusiness: The Show" features an insightful interview with Jackie Hind, CEO of Plumb Pharmaceuticals, our 2020 grand prize winner in the Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.

We also showcase the latest Tech Metrics and upcoming Tech Council events to put on your calendar.

Sponsors include Exact Sciences, UW-Milwaukee and BDO.

View past episodes of The Show here.

Save the date: The annual Wisconsin Early Stage Symposium will be virtual on Nov. 9-11, 2020

The conference will focus on increased opportunities for emerging companies and startups to meet with investors 1:1, pitch and present their companies. Our virtual exhibitor booths will be enhanced time to meet with sponsors and others.

Watch for more information to come via the Tech Council Current, press releases and social media!

The Tech Council is part of a statewide group that is tracking the progress of “The Endless Frontier Act,” which is a bipartisan federal bill aimed at dramatically boosting research and development assets in the United States.

Related to the federal proposal is a webinar series on how Midwest assets can help to drive a national recovery.

“Shaping the Endless Frontier: How the Midwest Can Spark the U.S. Economy” is hosted by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the Wisconsin Technology Council, Michael Best Strategies and UW-Milwaukee.

What will The Endless Frontier Act do? / 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 

This 60-minute discussion will include congressional co-sponsors and advocates of the Endless Frontier Act who will explain why now is the time, and the Midwest is a leading place, for bold investments in science, technology and innovation. For the last century, the United States had been the undisputed, global leader in university and industry research. Our panelists will explain how targeted federal investment in emerging growth centers focused on quantum computing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and manufacturing can extend and expand U.S. leadership into the 21st century and beyond.

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
Chancellor Mark Mone, UW-Milwaukee
Dr. Melissa Skala, Investigator, Morgridge Institute for Research; Professor of Biomedical Engineering, UW–Madison
Tom Still (moderator), president, Wisconsin Technology Council

                                                           Register here!

COVID-19

• Forbes: Global tourism industry faces $1 trillion loss, 100 million jobs at risk from COVID-19
• Wall Street Journal: Abbott’s $5 rapid antigen test emergency-use FDA status
• Fierce Healthcare: Epic’s Faulkner and ThedaCare’s Toussaint: Observational EHR data are helping combat COVID-19
• Johns Hopkins: [Podcast] Asymptomatic infection with COVID-19 focusing on mask use
• USA Today: Dawn is breaking in vaccine race, panel finds
• STAT: A dilemma for ‘long-haulers’: Many can’t prove they ever had COVID due to testing shortages
• NYTimes: School nurses are on the coronavirus front lines, but many schools don’t have one
• WPR: Wisconsin universities begin reporting cases of COVID-19

ECONOMY

• Milwaukee Business Journal: Visit Milwaukee sees 97 cancelled events, $70 million loss from COVID-19
• Globe St: In Wisconsin, COVID-19 affected CRE market, but industrial sector fared the best
• Forbes: American Airlines will cut 19,000 jobs in October after the CARES Act funds run out
• Milwaukee Business Journal: New U.S. jobless claims rise back above 1 million
• CBS2: Glassdoor data shows surge in diversity, inclusion job openings
• Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus is causing a can shortage
• Axios: The COVID-19 learning cliff and the long-term economic impact for students

HEALTH

• Milwaukee Business Journal: Advocate Aurora will be involved in health care industry consolidation
• Wall Street Journal: Pandemic drives patients – and deal makers – to telemedicine
• Forbes: The role of Congress in addressing the U.S. mental health crisis
• Thrive: The importance of rituals and boundaries when working from home
• GE Healthcare: One-stop breast clinics relieve anxiety in the COVID era
• UW-Madison: Kreeger lands new grant to study ovarian cancer metastasis mechanisms
• Madison Startups: Propeller Health to distribute in Japan
• Wall Street Journal: Why boys might be weathering the pandemic better than girls

ENTREPRENEURS + INNOVATION

• WisconsinINNO: How 5 Wisconsin startups are fighting COVID-19
• Independent: Groundbreaking new material ‘could allow AI to merge with the human brain’
• Wisconsin100: Top 3 innovations for reopening college campuses
• WMC: Nominations to be accepted for “Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin” through Sept. 4
• UW-Madison: Theiler and his company find a way to make a difference during COVID
• WisBusiness: The Podcast with Boosted Chews’ UW-Madison student co-founders
• BizTimes: Milwaukee dips in Midwest startup rankings
• The Verge: U.S. announces $1 billion research push for AI and quantum computing

INVESTING

• BizTimes Milwaukee: Charter Communications invests $1 million in WWBIC
• Crunchbase: Diversity Rider program seeks to broaden investor pool
• CNN: Millennials working from home using Robinhood app may be moving the market
• Crunchbase: The state of global venture funding during COVID-19

EDUCATION (focus on ways to improve, local)

• UW-Madison: UW experts in textiles, filtration and infectious disease design masks for campus from scratch
• AP News: Zoom glitches, briefly grinding U.S. schools to a halt
• Cap Times: New MMSD teachers feeling sense of community as they prepare for unprecedented year
• CNET: School is starting – and the broadband gap will be a massive problem
• Milwaukee Business Journal: Thousands of college students petitioning for tuition discounts
• UW-Milwaukee: Company licenses drug development compounds form UWM Research Foundation
• Milwaukee Business Journal: Universities get creative in back-to-school plans
• Urban Milwaukee: UWM professor Arijit Sen wins Fulbright Award
• Milwaukee Business Journal: [Slideshow] See Marquette’s COVID-19 campus modifications

Please send your upcoming virtual events for consideration to laura@wisconsintechnologycouncil.com

gBETA presents Building Software for Startups – A Guide for Non-Technical Founders on Friday, August 28

The NRT Connections’ Riding the COVID Storm Out - “We are all in the same storm, but not the same boat” will be online Friday, August 28

SmartMeetings presents The Survivor Diaries: How Smart Women are Conquering Epic COVID Disruptions on Tuesday, September 1

Women’s Entrepreneurship Week’s Workshop: Prioritizing Actions to Drive Your Business Forward is on Wednesday, September 2

STAT offers Getting Real World Data about COVID-19 on Thursday, September 17

SVA’s webinar on Economic Indicators for Businesses will be on Thursday, September 17

Aberdean presents Manage Your Tasks Anywhere: The Power of the Microsoft To Do App on Thursday, September 24

Milwaukee Tech Hub Coalition and Newaukee are asking for volunteers to sign up now for “Teach an Hour of Code” online event in early December

• WI Health Connect: Think you may have COVID-19? Free, confidential over-the-phone screening now available.
• Live dashboard with QUICK NUMBERS and FACTS on the IMPACT of COVID-19
• Michael Best has formed a COVID-19 Task Force to address business and legal implications.
• Reinhart’s Coronavirus Resource Center includes the impact of HR 6201 on employees.
• BDO monitors the latest COVID-19 business impacts and regulatory updates.
• Learn more about Epic tools that can help you and your organization treat and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• WIPLFi: Information to help businesses and individuals weather the coronavirus.
• Quarles & Brady has created a resource of COVID-19 articles that impact clients and businesses.
• Wisconsin Department of Tourism is actively planning for Wisconsin’s economic COVID-19 recovery.
• Click here to sign up for the WisPolitics/WisBusiness daily healthcare report.
• Husch Blackwell explores issues at the intersection of law and public health emergencies.
• TASC is making its expertise and emergency benefit accounts available for free to Dane County employers in 2020.
• Neider & Boucher provides their clients with the necessary focus to help define and reach their goals during COVID-19.
• UW-Madison’s CROWE researchers track and analyze the economic impact of COVID-19 in Wisconsin and beyond.
• WMC launched a Coronavirus (COVID-19) Business Resource Center and Employer Toolkit.
• Godfrey & Kahn’s COVID-19 Resource Center provides timely insights on the unique legal challenges and business implications created by the pandemic
• Baker Tilly’s Coronavirus Resource Center: how an unplanned event such as the COVID-19 outbreak can affect your organization, employees, customers and suppliers.
• The Burish Group: UBS Business Owner Resiliency Center
• The Creative Company is offering a free crisis white paper download: How to communicate with clarity during COVID-19
• Aberdean Consulting has an updated Remote Office/Home Office Security Survey  
• MKE Tech Hub has a new outgoing newsletter for the tech community to stay informed and engaged. Click here to subscribe.
• UW-Madison launched a new COVID-19 dashboard for faculty, staff and students