News and Events

The Penn State Berks Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development (CEED) Center hosted its annual Student Enterprise Award ceremony on March 24, 2025. The award provides seed money to support enterprising and innovative students and allow them to utilize their Penn State Berks education to become entrepreneurs.

In celebration of AI Week, Penn State Berks hosted an evening exploring the transformative power of AI for small- to medium-sized businesses on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The event was held in the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) Center, located within the Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building.

 

Sadan Kulturel-Konak, professor of management information systems and the director of the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center at Penn State Berks, has been selected as VentureWell Ecosystem Futures Fellows for the inaugural 2025 cohort.

From an aquatic robot that will remove pollution from the ocean to apps that help students connect and learn, winners of the Penn State Berks Flemming CEED Center Innovation and Business Idea Challenge developed creative and impactful solutions to address significant local and global challenges. The three winning teams were each awarded a $1,000 "IMAGINE Your Business" grant, funded by the County of Berks "Imagine Berks" Fund.

Penn State Berks will host a variety of events during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2024, set for Monday, Nov. 18, to Friday, Nov. 22. Events are sponsored by the college’s Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development Center and the Berks LaunchBox in downtown Reading.

Sadan Kulturel-Konak, professor of management information systems and director of the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center at Penn State Berks, will be formally recognized with the 2024 American Society of Engineering Education Middle Atlantic Section Distinguished Teaching Award at the association’s fall conference at Farmingdale State College, Oct. 25-26.

 

The Penn State Berks Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development Center hosted its annual Student Enterprise Award ceremony on March 25, 2024.

 

Penn State Berks will host a slate of events from March 15-22, 2024, in honor of Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC, a University-wide event that takes place every spring and brings leading minds in entrepreneurship and innovation to Penn State campuses across the commonwealth. The week features entrepreneurial workshops, networking events, student pitch competitions, and presentations from startup founders and corporate innovators, including many Penn State alumni.

 

Penn State Berks student startup team Streamline Charging LLC, which is developing cost-efficient technology for electric vehicle charging, was among 22 national teams selected for the summer 2023 cohort of the VentureWell Accelerator E-Team Program, which supports student ventures.

Penn State Berks will host a variety of events during Global Entrepreneurship Week from Monday, Nov. 13 to Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. Events are sponsored by the college’s Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development (CEED) Center and the Berks LaunchBox in downtown Reading. All events are free and open to the public but advanced registration is required for some events.

 

The Penn State Berks Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development (CEED) Center will host the “Innovate to Renovate” upcycling workshop from 3 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, in Room 111 Gaige Technology and Business Innovation Building. The event is free and open to Penn State Berks faculty, staff and students.

 

As part of Startup Week, the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development Center at Penn State Berks will host a webinar discussing the success of its Customer Discovery Lab, which connects budding entrepreneurs with mentors. The March 20 webinar will include students and mentors from two startups: GroupIt LLC and Streamline Charging LLC. Registration is required in advance.

 

Each spring, Penn State Startup Week powered by PNC brings together the best and brightest Penn State student and alumni entrepreneurs and innovators for a weeklong celebration of what happens when Penn State’s inspired doers put their ideas into action.  

 

Budding entrepreneurs are invited to apply to the Penn State Berks Customer Discovery Lab, a four-week series of workshops organized by the college’s Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED) Center. This opportunity is open to Penn State students, recent alumni, faculty, staff, and community members interested in exploring the commercial viability of their idea or innovation.

Penn State Berks will host a variety of events during Global Entrepreneurship Week from Monday, Nov. 14, to Thursday, Nov. 17. Events are sponsored by the college’s Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development Center and the Berks LaunchBox in downtown Reading.

 

Budding entrepreneurs are invited to apply for the Penn State Berks Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Center’s Customer Discovery Lab, a six-week series of workshops that will provide commercialization training and mentorship, as well as the opportunity to apply for micro-grants, for up to 30 startup teams per year.

 

The Flemming CEED Center faculty members and faculty members from Penn State recently received funding from the Penn State Social Science Research Institute’s (SSRI) "Reducing Social Disparities" initiative.