Veterans Day: UIC program helps vets start companies

WHAT:

Military veterans will gather at the University of Illinois at Chicago to discuss how to launch their own businesses at the Veterans2Ventures networking reception. Veterans who are planning to start and operate a business are encouraged to attend.

On display will be objects from “The Things We Carried,” a student veterans’ art exhibition inspired by the book “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien. The exhibit showcases photos and artwork from past and present wars, giving a glimpse of life during deployment.

WHEN/WHERE:

Veterans Day, Nov. 11
3 – 5 p.m.
UIC Student Center East, East Terrace
750 S. Halsted St.

DETAILS:

The Veterans2Ventures initiative supports veterans returning to the Chicago area who want to be entrepreneurs.  The free, non-degree certificate program is designed to help participants with basic business management skills and introduce key concepts for entrepreneurial success.

A pilot program will be run in spring 2014 and the 16-week program will launch next fall.

UIC has a long history of serving veterans dating back to the origin of its undergraduate programs. In 1946, the University of Illinois created a temporary, two-year branch campus on Navy Pier to accommodate student veterans on the GI Bill. In 1961, land at Harrison and Halsted streets was chosen for a new, permanent campus that became part of UIC.

Media coverage is welcomed and there will be on-site support for interviews. Members of the UIC Student Veterans Association will be in attendance.

Admission is free. Register online.

The Veterans2Ventures networking event is hosted by the UIC Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, the UIC Office of Student Veterans Affairs, the UIC Student Veterans Association and the African American Cultural Center.