ROCKLIN, CA May 11, 2018 – Sierra College is honored that Hanna Keraf, Co-Founder and Chief of Community Development for PT Karya Dua Anyam (Du’Anyam) in Jakarta, Indonesia, will be the guest speaker at the Sierra Student Startup Showcase on May 17 from  4:30-6 PM at Hacker Lab powered by Sierra College at 4415 Granite Drive Rocklin CA. The event is being sponsored by U.S. Bank, the City of Rocklin and California Capital Finance Development Corporation & Women’s Business Center. Following the Student Showcase, participants in Hacker Lab’s Startup Hustle will pitch their entrepreneurial ideas at Demo Night from 6 – 8 PM. The public is invited to attend.

Du’Anyam is one of Indonesia’s leading social enterprises, based in East Nusa Tengga-ra. They provide alternative income for women in rural areas, as well as better access to health facilities and a healthier lifestyle. Du’Anyam has a strong track record of promoting sustainable livelihood improvement by providing conditional cash-for-work through wicker crafts. Keraf is a driven young social entrepreneur who saw a need in her community and is addressing this need by highlighting the traditional handicrafts of local women and providing the skills and training necessary to support their businesses.

After Keraf’s presentation, Sierra College BUS 141 students will pitch the business startups that they have been working on throughout the semester. Using Adobe Kickbox methodology, Dennis Wingate, Sierra College Business faculty member, collaborated with Mark Randall, Chief Strategist, VP Creativity, Adobe Systems and Kickbox creator, to adapt the business startup process to be taught in a college class.

Over the spring semester, Sierra College students have ideated, tested, prototyped and validated their business concepts, explained Wingate. “We are grateful to U.S. Bank for providing scholarships for these business students so that they had access to the ecosystem of mentors, resources and tools at Hacker Lab Powered by Sierra College,” said Wingate. “Using the makerspace, they developed and fine-tuned their entrepreneurial concepts. The best pitches selected by their classroom peers will be presented at Student Startup Showcase and the students will compete for cash prizes to pursue their ideas.”

Starting at 6 PM with networking, participants in Hacker Lab’s Startup Hustle will present their startup pitches at Demo Night, according to Dan Casas-Murray, Startup Hustle Manager, Hacker Lab. “Over the past eight weeks, Startup Hustle bootcamp participants have been working overtime to investigate customer problems, create solutions and discover a business model,” said Casas-Murray. “They’ve done their homework and identified big opportunities. Now it’s time to show off what they’ve created and share what’s needed to get their idea to the next level.”

Dominic Felipe Gutierrez, Sierra Makerspaces Director, indicated that these two events demonstrate the innovation that is happening in the Sacramento region. “The collaboration with local business and organizations is supporting entrepreneurship that is being taught and nurtured at Sierra College and Hacker Lab,” said Gutierrez. “Small businesses are economic drivers and employers tell us that they are seeking employees with an entrepreneurial mindset to help them grow. The Student Startup Showcase and Startup Hustle Demo Night will highlight the ingenuity being cultivated in our community.”

Local manufacturers are recruiting people who can demonstrate problem solving and critical thinking skills, according to Steve Dicus, Deputy Sector Navigator for Advanced Manufacturing, housed at Sierra College, and co-chair of the education committee for the Sacramento Valley Manufacturing Initiative (SVMI). “Manufacturers want employees who can use entrepreneurial thinking to improve manufacturing processes as well as to listen to customers’ needs to enhance existing as well as develop new products,” said Dicus. “There are many careers in design, sales, engineering, marketing and production with Sacramento manufacturing companies where students can use the skills developed in business entrepreneurship classes, through Startup Hustle and by learning to use the makerspace tools at Hacker Lab powered by Sierra College.”

For information about Sierra Makerspaces, contact Dominic Gutierrez at (916) 913-2708 or dominic@SierraMakerspaces.com and visit https://cccmaker.com/space/sierra-college-makerspaces/. Sierra College is also leading the statewide CCC Maker initiative (https://cccmaker.com/) to build a network of 24 community college makerspaces through a California Community College Chancellor’s Office Workforce Development Initiative under the Doing What MATTERS for Jobs and the Economy Framework to prepare innovation-ready graduates.

About Hacker Lab

Established in 2012 in Sacramento, Hacker Lab aims to educate folks and spark innovation with community driven resources. Offering co-working, maker space, courses, meet-ups and events, Hacker Lab believes that technology can change the world and the starting point is education. Hacker Lab has locations in Sacramento and Rocklin. Learn more at the Hacker Lab website https://hackerlab.org/en.

Sierra College District is rising to the needs of our community. Sierra College serves 3200 square miles of Northern CA with campuses in Roseville, Rocklin, Grass Valley, and Truckee. With approximately 125 degree and certificate programs, Sierra College is ranked first in Northern California (Sacramento north) for transfers to four year Universities, offers career/technical training, and classes for upgrading job skills.  Sierra graduates can be found in businesses and industries throughout the region. More information at www.sierracollege.edu

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