About Us
We are a business engagement program designed to build authentic relationships between the UW and external partners.
By connecting with the Nelson Institute Enterprise, you can hire world-class faculty and researcher expertise and engage with a campus community across disciplines. Your company can tap into cutting-edge discovery across energy and environmental systems, from forecasting global energy demand to customizing climate model data for infrastructure planning.
We have structured a flexible system to build relationships and launch projects. Whether you are interested in hiring analysts akin to a consulting company or sharing your expertise with UW–Madison classes, we have lots of ways to meet your goals, interests, and priorities. Our goal is to connect your needs with UW–Madison’s knowledge creation engine.
Areas of Focus
Within our strategic focus areas, we operate several major initiatives, make hundreds of business connections, and collaborate on dozens of projects.
Satellite Data
Satellite data supports decision-making across multiple sectors. From tracking air quality and emissions to siting clean energy infrastructure, space-based data can be applied to benefit energy, health, and climate.
Energy
Business leaders face complex decisions around energy production and use. We advance collaborations across disciplines and sectors to inform innovative technology and policy solutions.
Oceans
Oceans play a central role in the global climate, as well as the global economy. We facilitate connections that support marine health and industries.
Sustainability
Housed in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, we place sustainability at the heart of what we do. Whether we’re convening local business leaders or coordinating research to solve industry needs, we advance knowledge-building for a sustainable future.
Business Engagement, the Badger Way
The values of trust, teamwork, and mutual benefit play out in everything we do. We would love to work with you.
Trust
As a public university, we hold the trust of our students, colleagues, peers and partners. We earn that trust by being straightforward, telling the truth, and being transparent in our methods.
Teamwork
We know that real-world problems don’t fit neatly into academic silos. That’s why we connect researchers across campus, and we look to learn from external partners through two-way problem-solving.
Win-Win
We build partnerships with the goal of benefitting everyone involved. Both external friends and campus colleagues bring personal, professional, and organizational goals. By understanding these goals and interests, we develop shared initiatives with mutual benefit.