By Lucas Wimmer

UW-Whitewater is now one of two schools with the opportunity to work in the global arena of water technology.  Student offices now are located in the Institute for Water Business in the newly opened Global Water Center in Milwaukee.

The new institute, located at 247 Freshwater Way in Milwaukee, opened on Sept. 10, and the Global Water Center held its opening on Sept. 12.

This building will benefit students who have the following; Integrated Science/Business majors with a water emphasis, Water Business minors, a part of the Interdisciplinary Water Expertise team, the Water Council Student Organizations according to College of Business and Economics infomation.

The mission statement of the institute is “to engage, educate and empower stakeholders to identify and successfully respond to regional, national and international water business issues, challenges, and opportunities,” according to the College of Business and Economics.

The UW-Whitewater Institute for Water Business holds water-related business of all sizes, including international companies like Siemens, said Linda Reid, director of the UW-Whitewater Institute of Water Business and faculty adviser to the UW-Whitewater Water Council.

Reid said the hope is for the building to be the hub of Milwaukee’s global water technology.

Students will be able to participate in internships, independent studies, senior projects, professional development, community service and networking events as the Institute develops.

UW-Whitewater is contracted with the Water Council, the UW-Whitewater Water Council’s parent organization based out of Milwaukee, to provide entrepreneurship education and training to four companies through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to help get their new businesses off the ground, Reid said.

Although this task is largely handled by Management Professor William Dougan, the students are invited to participate in that endeavor. The students also are encouraged to attend networking events, Reid said.

“Part of my role as the director of the institute is to help develop more internships for students in any kind of water-related field,” Reid said. “Whoever is interested to working in water, we want to help them find more internships and to find jobs for our graduates.”

Reid says the institute can provide exposure for the university and help it develop in the future.

“We are the only undergraduate institution in the entire country that does water business education, and we are there to remind the largest city in the state that that is what we do,” Reid said.

Dylan Waldhuetter, Water Council member and Integrated Science/Business major with a water emphasis, gave tours during the opening of the building.    He said the new institute will help the students get involved by giving them opportunities that no other UW students will have.

“The institute is going to be the liaison between the students and all of the water-technology based companies in the Milwaukee area,” Waldhuetter said. “For example, if students come up with startup concepts, they lease office space to entrepreneurs that can prove that they are worthy of the space. It is really creating a culture in Milwaukee for the water industry for years to come.”

Reid said three students currently hold internships at the institute and hopes to develop more internships in the future.

If students would like to get involved in the opportunities the UW-Whitewater Institute of Water Business provides, Reid suggests they become members of the UW-Whitewater Water Council and attend their meetings.

The UW-Whitewater Water Council meets at 5:15 p.m. every other Wednesday in Hyland 1305.