“It will serve as a point of connection between our campus and the Columbus community, between rising Buckeye entrepreneurs and industry veterans, and amongst our students who can share their expertise with each other and combine it to create the next big thing,” said Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. “This center will also be a significant resource to these students in terms of space, mentorship, support for all of their ideas and tools to help bring those ideas to life.”
The entrepreneurs’ center features include modular spaces, conference rooms, adaptable lighting, state-of-the-art audio-visual technology, smart boards and much more.
“The Keenan Center, in concert with traditional classroom education, provides hands-on workshops, competitions, faculty and alumni mentorship, and more to foster and grow the entrepreneurial culture across campus,” said Peter Mohler, executive vice president for research, innovation and knowledge. “Through these efforts, we are able to create a community of students passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation.”
One of those students is Devi Dheekshita Nelakurti, a biomedical science major and co-president of SmileChild. The startup is a student-founded nonprofit, designed to reduce infant mortality through a module-based mobile app to educate caregivers on self and infant care. This startup was awarded President Buckeye Accelerator funding in 2023.
