{"id":32295,"date":"2015-03-03T10:55:25","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T20:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=32295"},"modified":"2021-09-29T13:00:01","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T23:00:01","slug":"takitani-foundation-seeds-innovation-fellowships-at-pace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2015\/03\/03\/takitani-foundation-seeds-innovation-fellowships-at-pace\/","title":{"rendered":"Takitani Foundation seeds innovation fellowships at PACE"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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From left, Maile Au, Jan Luke Loo, Vance Roley, Susan Yamada, Michael W. Perry and Unyong Nakata.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation<\/a> has committed $25,000 to the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship<\/a> (PACE<\/abbr>) at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa’s Shidler College of Business<\/a>. The gift will be matched by the UH<\/abbr> Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation<\/a> to seed the Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation Innovation Fellowship Program.<\/p>\n

The fellowship will be awarded to high-achieving students at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa. Under the guidance of an advisor, Takitani Innovation Fellows will provide strategic planning services to companies on issues related to market expansion, new product launch and acquisition. Fellows may also work on select UH<\/abbr> innovation and technologies that matriculate into the Proof of Concept Center housed within PACE<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“PACE<\/abbr>, with its game-changing entrepreneurial educational programs, is a great match for the Takitanis, who understood what it takes to be successful entrepreneurs and whose foundation is dedicated to helping Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> students achieve their goals,” said Michael W. Perry, chairman of the board of the Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation.<\/p>\n

“Entrepreneurial education happens in both the classroom and the real world. The Takitani gift enables PACE<\/abbr> to provide the brightest students with an entrepreneurial focus to get their hands dirty and ‘practice’ entrepreneurship. They will be developing business plans, financial projections, market analyses and working hand-in-hand with entrepreneurs to develop their businesses,” said Susan Yamada<\/strong>, PACE<\/abbr> executive director.<\/p>\n

“We are extremely grateful to the Takitani Foundation for their generosity to PACE<\/abbr> and the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” said UH<\/abbr> Vice President for Research and Innovation Vassilis L. Syrmos<\/strong>. “This wonderful gift brings PACE<\/abbr> one step closer to expanding on its dynamic entrepreneurial programs for our students and faculty—now a cornerstone to our university’s efforts to commercialize its technology in support of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Innovation Initiative<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

PACE<\/abbr> Initiative<\/h2>\n

The Takitani Foundation’s gift will benefit the five-year PACE<\/abbr> Initiative that was launched in February 2014. The goal of the initiative is to raise $3 million to create new programs and expand existing ones. Funds raised through the initiative will also be used to renovate and expand the current location in the Shidler College of Business.<\/p>\n

Additional PACE<\/abbr> Initiative stories<\/p>\n