The Partum Group, a student team from the College of Business’s IMBA program (the entrepreneurship MBA), has accumulated the awards and winnings listed below throughout the 2007-2008 competition cycle. The college is extremely proud of their accomplishments and hard work. Team members include Divya Cantor MD, Katie Dawson and James Mudd.

2008 Moot Corp Competition
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Division III, Best Product
NASDAQ Stock Market Challenge Award, $1,000

2008 Idea State U
Cabinet for Economic Development
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Graduate Plan 1st Place, $44,660

2008 McGinnis Venture Competition
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Elevator Pitch Winner 1st Place, $1,000

2008 Northwest Venture Championship
Boise State University
Boise, Idaho
Honorable Mention
Limo Pitch Competition Graduate Track, 1st Place, $200

2008 Cardinal Challenge
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Fast Pitch, 2nd Place, $1,000

2008 Aleris New Venture Competition
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Best Trade Show, $500
Best Business Plan, $8,000

Other Awards
Vogt Development Award, $10,000

Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation
ICC Concept Award, $25,000

The Partum Group gave a valiant effort for the 2008 Moot Corp Competition in Austin, TX. Although Partum did not make it past their track, they are armed with feedback for the money rounds for non-finalists tomorrow starting at 9 AM.

Here’s to tomorrow!

The Partum Group was the first presentation in their respective track. The group was surprised that for the first time a fellow physician was a member of the judging panel. For Partum’s benefit, the physician was a former OB/GYN, just like Divya Cantor. This physician was enthusiastic of maternaTRAC that he wished he had it while a practicing OB/GYN (he has since moved to a fertility focus).

As being the first group to present, Partum has the ability to watch other presentations that are occurring during the competition.

Next on the agenda: Judge feedback and results.

So that may be the tagline for the University of Louisville, but I must admit that all of the competitors during the venture showcase had the pleasure to setup a table at the venture showcase during extremely warm conditions. The Partum Group did a great job with their booth by displaying their mock-up of maternaTRAC in addition to having a table toper. A few teams were spared the extremely hot (must have been 80 degrees or more) trade show rooms by being in a hallway area. Many of the competitors took down their displays prior to the official end time of 7:30 PM. I can’t say that I blame them.

A group of 20-30 Irishmen were singing “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash, “Why, why, Delia,” and other football fight songs. As Katie led the Partum Group out of the Irish Pub, one Irishman mentioned something about Austin not having many horses. Katie quickly quipped that “Kentucky has horses!” Apparently “Kentucky has horses!” is Gaelic for “sing to me.” The Irishman pulled Katie to the microphone and sang an Irish ballad. When the ballad talked about a black-haired maiden, Katie humored the crowd and let the singer know she had brown hair. Quickly, the Irishman pulled Divya (who better fit the ballad’s hair description).

Okay so it’s been a while since my last post….what can I say I’m having a great time! Well after spending close to two months in Jinan life just gets easier and easier.

Let’s get started with the class load. If you are coming to Shandong University to study Mandarin be prepared for an intense class load. Depending on your skill level, which is determined by a placement test, you will have roughly 20-25 hours of classes a week. The amount of time spent in the classroom should be a testament to how well your Mandarin improves.

Let’s talk about food. Jinan is way cheaper than other big cities like Beijing and Shanghai; I can honestly say that you can eat three meals a day for about 3-5 US Dollars. Obviously the majority of the cuisine offered in Jinan is Chinese; however, there are variety of other choices such as Italian, Japanese, and Pakistani. Also located on Shandong University’s campus is a four-story cafeteria with a variety of Chinese selections. If you are having a hard time adjusting to authentic Chinese cuisine, there is always McDonalds and KFC both of which are walking distance from the campus. If you want to do grocery shopping there are plenty of grocery stores located in Jinan. The one that most international students go to is Carrefour.

Let’s move on to transportation. The main modes of transportation in China is walking or riding a bike. A bike can be purchased in Jinan for about 100 RMB. Public transportation in Jinan is very cheap and pretty convenient. A bus ride costs 1 RMB and taxi meters start out at 7.50 RMB.

All in all the lifestyle in Jinan is pretty simple. The people in Jinan are very nice and welcoming of foreigners. Though Jinan is quite small, it is located close to major cities like Beijing and Qingdao (three and a half hours by train). If you ever feel the need to get away, you are only a train ride away. Well that’s all for now, until next time. Zai-jian!

The first presentation at 9 AM went well. The Partum Group presented infront of two judges from Austin. The group performed well and answered some tough questions from the judges.

Partum has made great strides since the initial concept presentation in April 2007. With over $90,000 in funding so far, Partum is looking to take receipt of their prototype within the next month.

James Mudd, VP of Business Development never thought a class project would lead to a business concept competition, or to actual product development.

Next on the agenda: Trade show at 5:30 PM CST.

Local newspaper article: http://www.statesman.com/search/content/business/stories/other/05/01/0501moot.html

While any people in Louisville are gearing up for the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby, three students from the College of Business’ MBA program are competing in the 2008 Moot Corp competition in Austin, TX. The competition brings nearly 40 teams of MBA students from around the world vying for $100,000 in prize monies and related business services.

The Partum Group, will give their first presentation to a group of venture capitalist judges to receive additional feedback before the competition officially starts on Friday, May 2, 2008. The Partum Group has created a business around a medical device that will enhance patient safety, nursing efficiency, and physician diagnosis in the labor and delivery departments of hospitals.

Members Divya Cantor, MD, Katie Dawson, and James Mudd, will give their first presentation at 9AM CST/10 AM EST. Faculty adviser Van Clouse, PhD, is accompanying the team to Austin, TX.

After a long journey I am finally here in Jinan, CN. The city is a lot older and less modern than I originally thought, but i guess that will be part of the experience. On my first day at Shandong University I basically filled out paperwork all day, opened a bank account, and took a placement test. I opened an account with Bank of China since it is the biggest state run bank in China and is basically everywhere. Anyone that plans on staying in China for a long period of time should definitiely consider opening a bank account. It is a pretty easy process and the employees are very friendly and helpful. Anyways….here are some pictures of my dorm and kind of what to expect if you plan on coming here. I will have more updates later. Zai jian! (good-bye!)

Steve

A fresh new week of school seems to have brought a surprising amount of pep in my life! After settling down from my vacations with my sister to Berlin and München, I have had the great experience of starting back up with all of the classes, all of the reading and preparation, and fortunately all of the beautiful weather! Today when I left for my Family Business class, the weather was around -2°C (27ish°F), but by the time my class was over, I was able to take a nice stroll along the River Rhein and enjoy some unseasonably warm 10°C (50°F) weather. I’m still learning to adjust to the metric system, but even though ten degrees sounds fairly cold, I would never turn down how beautiful the weather has been! It’s sad to say, but in times like these, I kind of have to appreciate global warming… (oops… did I say that?! Just kidding)

German classes also started back up today. In my class there are about 8 students, coming from places such as Norway, China, Hungary, and of course the US! The entire class was taught in German, save two or three simple explanations in English. Impressively enough, though, I was able to survive fairly well. I’m picking up a lot more of this language than I thought I would be. In the beginning I told a few people that learning to read Braille with my elbows would be easier, but with each stride the language becomes easier to digest and understand. For tomorrow’s lecture, I have several assignments for homework: one is to fill out a map with all of the different German states and label their capitals, another is to complete a worksheet concerning the geography and climates of Germany and its surrounding countries (all in German of course), and finally the last is to make a journal of everything I’ve done tonight. Tomorrow we will begin learning the past tense, so all of the verbs in the journal will help segue into the new chapter of studies. I must say, the language department at EBS is very unique, inasmuch as it finds very creative ways to help teach a quite difficult language.

Today I also managed to purchase a phone number for my Internet telephone. I had the opportunity to talk to a lot of my family and many of my close friends for very nominal charges. I was able to speak with several members of my church (which is also my work), who surprisingly enough are as anxious about my return as I am! The music minister posted a link on the website, www.oakparkbaptist.com, so that the members of Oak Park Baptist can stay informed as to what all is happening on the other side of the pond. I’m very happy to have spoken with everybody today, and hearing everybody’s voice really helped out on the homesickness.

Even though I do miss everybody a great deal at home, school, and at church, I cannot begin to describe how wonderful of an experience this has been so far. I can honestly say that this past month and a half has probably been the most exciting of my life. I cannot thank everyone enough for all of the support and encouragement that has placed me here! I also cannot fail to mention how appreciative I am to David and Betty Jones for their gracious contribution to the funding of this trip. Without them, I would not have been able to enjoy what all this wonderful country has to offer.

Despite the fact that Östrich-Winkel is quite the “thriving metropolis,” there have been a few nights with significant down time. And while I do enjoy reading and studying, sometimes it’s good to go out and try something new. Last night, I did just that. Several of the Tauschies were discussing a Salsa Dance class that was going on in town, and they invited me to come. At first, I thought it was the silliest thing ever — ME… DANCING?! But after second thought (and a little convincing from my friends), I headed off to Rüdesheim, a town just a few minutes outside of Oesterich-Winkel, for one of the most enjoyable evenings of my life. I had a blast with all of the other students, and since we were all beginners, there was practically no room for embarrassment. So while in a new country, I figure why not Carpe Diem and try something new? Who knows, when I get back I may be able to Salsa AND speak German. That, my friends, is going to be a marketable talent. I guess I’ll have to discuss that with the people in the Ulmer Career Center before I go ahead and post it in my resume…

It’s getting rather late now, and I must sign off to finish up some last minute work for my classes tomorrow. So until the next post, Tschüss!

Mark Ritter