Workshop held at West High School to nurture future entrepreneurs, innovators

The New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester
·2 min read

May 17—The Manchester School District played host over the weekend to an innovative two-day workshop designed to introduce students to skills needed to develop future problem solvers and entrepreneurs.

The Zero2Maker Workshop conducted by Nashua-based EnCube Labs in association with the National Collaborative For Digital Equity (NCDE) and NH Tech Alliance (NHTA) was held at Manchester High School West, and featured projects developed by 24 students.

Zero2Maker, a two-day hands-on workshop developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Asia School of Business by Prof. Rajesh Nair, combines creativity, STEM, CAD, electronics, coding, and mechanical design to enable students to make "intelligent gadgets and toys," followed by five weeks of mentoring to develop entrepreneurial interests and skills.

"Exploring learning outside of one's comfort zone is essential for building creative confidence," Nair said in a statement. "The workshop is designed to develop 'pre-entrepreneurs' by training people with little or no exposure to innovation and entrepreneurship to build skills and aptitudes to recognize their potential to pursue higher aspirations. Current entrepreneurship programs do not address this subset of the population of possible entrepreneurs."

Julie Demers, executive director of the NHTA, said her organization has a longstanding history of celebrating the Granite State's "most impressive entrepreneurs" and supporting innovation-based startups at their earliest stages.

"We are thrilled to partner on this program which will cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurial success stories here in NH," said Demers in a statement.

"Kids learning to make robots and use 3D printers, challenging them to be bold, creative and dare to dream — this is what kids need, especially those who grow up in poverty and see too little opportunity with their name on it," NCDE Executive Director Dr. Bob McLaughlin said in a statement. "We want them to know that an excellent future awaits them, if they persist, have courage, and have faith in their own abilities."