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Get a taste for Southern India with the new Mahika homewares SS14 collection

Get a taste for Southern India with the new Mahika homewares SS14 collection
The Mahika Living Range includes 21 pieces – small storage boxes from £5 to larger baskets for £20. … for ethical and social enterprise, founder and creative director Poornima Nair established Mahika, named after her daughter, in 2011 and has …
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Runway Global Recalls Sugarfly Girls' Coats; Waist Drawstring Poses
Hazard: The coats have a drawstring tie sewn into the side seam at the waist that could become snagged or caught in small spaces or vehicle doors, posing significant entanglement hazard to children. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines about …
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Former NBA Players Demonstrate How Science And Skill Go Hand In Hand At
After his retirement, Robinson began his own company, Confident-A-List Group, which focuses on creating better business solutions in different entrepreneurial sectors with a focus on sports. He is also aligned with Bell Management International and …
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Plum Energy Steps Up to Displace Diesel With LNG
… Add This; Blog This. SEATTLE, WA — (Marketwired) — 04/24/14 — Plum Energy, LLC, which is engaged in the development of small-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chains, today announced an investment from Avista Capital, a subsidiary of …
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Art Center College of Design Partners With Caltech, Teams With Idealab to Launch First Design-Focused Incubator in Southern California

(PRWEB) June 26, 2013

Pasadena, CA: Art Center College of Design and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) today announced the launch of The Design Accelerator, an incubator aimed at helping startups grow by merging great design, cutting-edge technology and business strategy to create innovation. The Accelerator initially will be housed within Idealab, which is well known for creating and operating pioneering companies in its own right.

“In today’s economy, artists and designers play a vital role as creative leaders and catalysts for innovation and change,” said Art Center President Lorne M. Buchman. “Integrating technology, design and business, The Design Accelerator creates an opportunity for Art Center and Caltech alumni to expand on what they learned as students and provides a stimulating space for their concepts to become viable businesses.”

The Accelerator is an integral part of Art Center’s 2011–2016 Strategic Plan. Understanding students’ concerns about employment prospects following graduation, The Accelerator fills a critical gap by giving students and alumni the opportunity to develop their concepts into sustainable and commercial ventures—a bridge between academic and professional life.

Fred Farina, Caltech’s chief innovation officer, adds, “We know that making connections across different areas fuels innovation, and that’s why we’re excited about this collaboration. The combination of our complementary but very different perspectives in a startup team promises powerful results.”

The Design Accelerator benefits from its prime location in Pasadena, Calif., which has become a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship with vibrant creative, technology and business communities, enriched by the presence of Art Center, Caltech, angel investors and venture capitalists.

“By virtue of their respective international leadership positions in design and technology, Art Center and Caltech are ideally positioned to establish a groundbreaking model with tremendous influence in the business and higher education sectors,” said Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard.

After an extensive application process, The Accelerator has selected promising early stage, design-driven technology companies from the Art Center and Caltech communities to participate in the intensive three-month program. During that period, the fledgling companies will be located in the Pasadena offices of Idealab, a technology-focused incubator.

Idealab CEO Bill Gross sits on the boards of both Art Center and Caltech and is thrilled to be part of their partnership. “Having started more than 100 companies,” Gross said, “Idealab is excited to help bring The Design Accelerator to life, further growing the Southern California startup community. We look forward to sharing with young entrepreneurs the lessons we’ve learned from 17 years of starting companies.”

Businesses are selected for The Accelerator based on their ability to demonstrate the value of human-centered design in support of advanced technologies, and the potential to disrupt the marketplace. Startups in the first class include a foldable electric bike company, a healthcare company focused on using 3D scanning and printing to provide custom-fit medical products and a web-based company that allows consumers to custom design their own household products.

Leading The Design Accelerator are co-founders Mark Breitenberg and Erik Hovanec. Breitenberg is the special assistant to the president of Art Center College of Design and was hired by President Buchman to develop the initiative. He was formerly the provost at California College of the Arts and was president of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design until 2011. Hovanec has extensive startup experience. He has been the CEO of LeisureLink, Inc. and was an early executive at both Green Dot Corp. and GoTo.com/Overture Services, Inc. He also advises and is an investor in early stage companies in Los Angeles.

“Great design creates emotional bonds and a seamless experience between technology and users,” said Breitenberg. “Both startups and the venture community are beginning to recognize the competitive advantage that design brings to business.”

The Design Accelerator is the first among Southern California incubators to focus on design. According to Hovanec, “We are focused on using the power of great design to create market disruption, and we believe that markets reaward disruption. It’s the same phenomenon we see with Apple’s smart phones or Pinterest’s website.”

Teams in The Accelerator’s immersive environment will be provided with seed capital from a related investment fund, as well as professional mentorship in design and technology drawn from the world-class faculties of Art Center and Caltech. Mentors in marketing and business strategy from the local community have also joined the initiative. The companies will employ low-cost startup methods and have access to Art Center’s preeminent rapid prototyping and 3D modeling facilities. The goal by the end of the three-month term is that each startup will be positioned to raise larger rounds of funding from angel, strategic or venture capital investors.

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is a world-renowned science and engineering research and education institution, where extraordinary faculty and students seek answers to complex questions, discover new knowledge, lead innovation, and transform our future.

Caltech’s scientific, engineering, and technological contributions have earned national and international recognition, including the 32 Nobel Prizes awarded to its faculty and alumni. Caltech offers a rigorous science and engineering curriculum for approximately 1,000 undergraduates and 1,300 graduate students. Caltech’s 124-acre campus is located in Pasadena, California. The Institute also manages the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for NASA, and owns and operates large-scale research facilities such as its world-renowned seismological laboratory and a global network of astronomical observatories that includes the Palomar Observatory and the W. M. Keck Observatory. Caltech is an independent, privately supported university.

Art Center College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. Art Center offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in a wide variety of art and design disciplines, as well as public programs for all ages and levels of experience. Renowned for its ties to industry and professional rigor, Art Center is also the first design school to receive the United Nations’ Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status, providing students with opportunities to create design-based solutions for humanitarian and nonprofit agencies around the world. During the College’s 80-year history, Art Center’s alumni have had a profound impact on popular culture, the way we live and important issues in our society.

The Design Accelerator and its seed-stage investment fund are for-profit entities created by Art Center College of Design in partnership with Caltech.

Images: High-resolution video and images are available for download from this online gallery: http://www2.artcenter.edu/designoffice/TDA/.







The University of Southern California Standardizes Capital Project Management Information and Communications Tracking with e


Ft. Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) March 13, 2012

eBuilder, the number one provider of integrated capital program and project management software to colleges and universities, announced today that The University of Southern California has selected eBuilder Enterprise to standardize their capital project planning, design, and construction processes. USC will leverage eBuilder Enterprises flexibility, easeofuse and deep module integration to enable a phased rollout to their construction management teams. By phasing the rollout, USC will quickly realize the benefits of consistent project communications, process management, and project controls while maintaining team productivity.

USCs Capital Construction Development, Facilities Management and Real Estate Teams are responsible for managing over 400 projects a year ranging from small renovations to major capital projects managed by a team of 30 project managers with a substantial annual capital project budget. The team required a system that would help them enable more methodical cost controls, as well as provide better visibility into project costs for the universitys administrators.

USC is standardizing business processes across their entire capital projects portfolio so they can be codified into eBuilder to reduce risk. As a result, eBuilder Enterprise will allow USCs Capital Construction Development, Facilities Management and Real Estate Teams to establish consistent and measurable business processes that can be refined as USCs requirements evolve. eBuilder will also serve as the collaboration and communications hub to ensure all projectrelated information is stored in a safe, easily accessible, and auditable database.

USC will also use eBuilder Enterprises Planning Module to help the University develop, prioritize and approve new capital plans. This module tracks the evolution of their capital plans, ensuring the team has complete visibility and supporting documentation for each change as it occurs. The eBuilder Enterprise Planning Module centralizes all information related to the capital plan, including design information, topographical studies, feasibility studies, and more. The builtin integration between eBuilders Cost and Planning modules enables USCs Capital Construction Development, Facilities Management and Real Estate Teams to leverage past project cost information, and use this data to develop more accurate estimates.

With nearly half of the top 10 Universities, as ranked by US News & World Report, already using e Builder, the addition of another leading higher education institution builds upon our commitment to deliver best demonstrated practices that produce real results says Jonathan Antevy, CEO of eBuilder, Inc.

About USC

The University of Southern California is one of the worlds leading private research universities. An anchor institution in Los Angeles, a global center for arts, technology and international trade, USC enrolls more international students than any other U.S. university and offers extensive opportunities for internships and study abroad. With a strong tradition of integrating liberal and professional education, USC fosters a vibrant culture of public service and encourages students to cross academic as well as geographic boundaries in their pursuit of knowledge.

About eBuilder

eBuilder is the leading provider of integrated capital program management software and construction management software for top facility owners and the companies that act on their behalf. The companys flagship product, eBuilder Enterprise, improves capital project execution, resulting in increased productivity and quality, reduced cost, and faster project delivery. Since 1995, eBuilders technology leadership and construction industry focus has provided thousands of global companies, government agencies, and healthcare and educational institutions managing billions of dollars in capital programs with solutions to improve the plan, build, and operate lifecycle. The company is privately held and headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. For more information, visit http://www.e-builder.net/.





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