Business & Tech

URI's Business Engagement Center to Host Free Forum in Newport

Speaker Katharine Hazard Flynn will discuss how URI's Business Engagement Center can boost the brand of local businesses.

Did you know about the multitude of resources right here in South County that are offered to local businesses free of charge? If not, now is your chance to get informed!

From 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28, the University of Rhode Island Business Engagement Center (BEC) will host a presentation on "growing your brand" at the Midtown Oyster Bar in Newport.

Admission is free. Online registration is requested.

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URI's Business Engagement Center, established in the fall of 2013, is at-the-ready to help even micro businesses and organizations benefit from the university's vast resources. Topics to be discussed during Tuesday's event include seeking reputable resources to strengthen your business or organization, successful collaboration, tips about hiring interns and many more.

Speaker Katharine Hazard Flynn, Executive Director of the URI Business Engagement Center, serves as URI's connector to the private/nonprofit sectors, helping brands leverage the university's resources for the betterment of the state. She will share her insights into statewide business resources, having served at the Economic Development Council. A Brown alum, Flynn also has significant finance experience in senior positions at Prudential Bache, Alex Brown & Sons, Toronto Dominion Securities, and Societe General.

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Sponsored by Designated Editor, the gathering will also discuss the different resources available at URI. Flynn will discuss how to access URI equipment, host events utilizing campus facilities, as well as how to find student interns, grad students, and graduated job seekers. She will also explain how businesses can benefit by collaborating with BEC on research, projects, and customized training for employees.

One example of BEC’s success is working with Cranston-based Electro Standards Labs. Electro Standards Labs recently partnered with ocean engineering professors Annette and Stephan Grilli and their students to develop new products to harness potential wave power. From buoy designs to scale models, the products were rigorously tested in the university’s wave tank and in Narragansett Bay.


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