Entrepreneurial speaker part of WMU Innovation Day

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—A Friday, Dec. 4, Innovation Day celebration at Western Michigan University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences will allow the public to review new product innovations by students from grades K-12 through graduate school.

The atrium of the college's engineering building on the Parkview Campus will be the site of the 2015 Innovation Day celebration from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Entrepreneurial students from across WMU, including students enrolled in Entrepreneurial Engineering II and Engineering Design courses, as well as those working through the Starting Gate business incubator and a number of K-12 students, will be presenting their prototypes or models for new products and businesses to the public. The public, in turn, will help assess the students' products and provide input.

Sponsors include Denso, R.W. LaPine and the Society of Plastic Engineers.

Keynote to address rejection

Now in its eighth year, the free event includes a keynote speech at 10:30 a.m. by Jia Jiang, who is the founder of FearBuster, a speaker and author of the book on how to overcome rejection, "Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible, One Rejection at a Time."

Several years after Jiang began his career in the corporate world, he stepped into the unknown world of entrepreneurship. To conquer the fear of rejection, he embarked on a personal quest and started a blog to face "100 Days of Rejection." He discovered that rejection can be much less painful than believed, and that the fear of rejection is much more destructive.

Jiang has taken his message to the stage and is now a highly sought-after speaker. His story has been profiled in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Yahoo News, Forbes and The Huffington Post.

For more information about Innovation Day and to register, visit wmich.edu/engineer/innovationday.

For more news, arts and events, visit wmich.edu/news.