Salve students organize, participate in inter-collegiate entrepreneurial summit at Innovate Newport

Salve students organize, participate in inter-collegiate entrepreneurial summit at Innovate Newport

The 25 students from Salve who attended represent a wide variety of majors, including finance, business administration, marketing, global business & economics, elementary education and exploratory.

by Community Submission




Students in Dr. Jennifer Bonoff’s MGT 255: Entrepreneurship class at Salve Regina University teamed up with Innovate Newport to organize and participate in the first Rhode Island Student Entrepreneurship (R.I.S.E.)

The Summit was held on Sunday, April 2, 2023, at Innovate Newport’s 314 Broadway headquarters.

Bonoff, assistant professor of marketing, and her class have been working throughout the semester with Mollie Frazer Williams, director of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at The Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce to plan the half-day event, which hosted about 25 students each from Salve Regina, the University of Rhode Island and Roger Williams University.


“This was such a fantastic experience for our students to both take part in the planning of the Summit as well as participate in the event itself,” Bonoff said. “Salve students had the opportunity to hear from successful entrepreneurs from a wide range of industries and network with other collegiate students across the state with similar interests.”

The 25 students from Salve who attended represent a wide variety of majors, including finance, business administration, marketing, global business & economics, elementary education and exploratory. Most were students in MGT 255.


The R.I.S.E. Summit provided students with access to workshops, flash talks, a keynote speaker and networking opportunities. It also gave students the opportunity to encourage, support and collaborate with one another in a dedicated networking space, with the main goal to support and promote collaboration among entrepreneurship programs at Rhode Island colleges and universities.

“The Summit is designed to get students excited about entrepreneurship, show them the path from idea to action, and inspire them to follow their dreams,” Williams said. “By creating and supporting a pipeline of budding entrepreneurs, we can enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Rhode Island.”


Innovate Newport, a coworking space and office provider, is also a community where entrepreneurs gain access to events, programming, resources, networks, mentors and potential investors.