Bioscience
KC to Host 2012 Livestock Biotech Summit
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has selected Kansas City as the site for this year’s Livestock Biotech Summit, to be held Sept. 19-21. The Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, MOBIO and KansasBio helped lure the BIO event to the heart of the Animal Health Corridor.
Hundreds of experts representing industry, academic, research and government sectors will gather in Kansas City for an animal biotechnology program focusing on genetic engineering of agricultural animals.
KansasBio, KCALSI and MOBIO are working with the event coordinators on ideas for sessions, and invite suggestions regarding panel presentations and keynote speakers. Contact Angela at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (913) 706-4168 to submit your ideas.
Google Fiber
Social Media Lead in Community Outreach Efforts
The Social Media Club of Kansas City has launched a new initiative to help Kansas City communities prepare for the benefits of gigabit Internet speeds Google Fiber will offer. Give Us a Gig is a toolkit for community leaders to engage their neighbors and explain how Google Fiber can make a difference in the community, according to the website at www.giveusagig.com.
Sketchbook Draws on Mayors to Promote Entrepreneurism
In a video sketchbook created by the Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, Mo. Mayor Sly James and Kansas City, Kan. Mayor Joe Reardon joined forces to explain the importance of entrepreneurship to the metro area’s identity and growth. James and Reardon say the area’s entrepreneurial spirit is stronger than state lines.
After highlighting the community’s rich entrepreneurial history, the mayors talk about the future, including Google’s plans to bring ultra high-speed Internet access to the two cities that will build a “worldwide platform for entrepreneurship.”
Recognition Adds Credence to Big 5 Goal
Kansas City has staked a claim to being “America’s Most Entrepreneurial City,” and recent recognition of the University of Missouri-Kansas City helps bolster that claim.
UMKC was ranked as the world’s No. 1 university in innovation management research by the Journal of Product Innovation Management. UMKC beat out heavyweights such as MIT, Harvard and Stanford.
UMKC Chancellor Leo E. Morton said the university’s focus on entrepreneurship across all campus disciplines aligns with the Kansas City community’s commitment to becoming the most entrepreneurial city in the nation.
Jim Heeter, president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber, said, “UMKC’s new ranking is a huge accomplishment, not only for the university but for the region as a whole. It represents a giant step forward as we begin our community-wide effort to make Kansas City ‘America’s Most Entrepreneurial City.’”
That goal is one of the Big 5 Ideas for KC, an initiative of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
