Women in Tech Summit Showcases Michigan’s Tech Leaders
Open to everyone, the MSU Research Foundation event celebrated women’s contributions to tech while inviting broader conversations on innovation, sustainability, AI in healthcare, and the future of entrepreneurship.
EAST LANSING, Mich. (Apr. 3, 2025) — The third annual Women in Tech Summit, hosted by the MSU Research Foundation, took place on Monday, March 31, 2025, at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing. Open to all, the event kicked off 517 Entrepreneurship & Innovation Week by bringing together entrepreneurs, researchers, and industry partners to discuss Michigan’s tech landscape and explore challenges and opportunities across industries.
Innovation, Leadership, and the Future of Tech
The summit opened with a networking breakfast, allowing attendees to connect over coffee and conversation. Beka Skrzyniarz, Director of Finance at the MSU Research Foundation, welcomed participants and highlighted the Foundation’s role in supporting tech and innovation across the region.
Shubhi Rao, founder and CEO of Uplevyl, delivered the keynote address, Why Female-Forward Technology Matters. Rao emphasized the need for designing technology with women at the center—both as users and as creators. Her message to build, participate, and lead was a call to action for women to engage deeply in shaping ethical, inclusive, and transformative innovation.
Navigating Challenges in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
A panel explored How Entrepreneurs Can Thrive Amid Federal Changes in 2025, moderated by Katie Kirsch of the MSU Research Foundation. Panelists included:
William Grenawitzke, Chief Business Officer at CircNova
Ami Iceman-Haueter, Chief Research & Digital Experience Officer at MSUFCU
Lindsey Kilbride, Partner at Detroit Venture Partners
Amanda Lewan, Co-Founder and CEO of Bamboo
Panelists shared insight on navigating uncertainty in a rapidly shifting political and economic environment, emphasizing the importance of staying grounded in core values. Michigan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem remains focused, they noted, but founders must move quickly, operate with precision, and align with partners who share their values.
The fireside chat Clean Energy & Environmental Breakthroughs featured:
• Dr. Denise Kay, Co-Founder of Enspired Solutions
• Dr. Brandy Brown, Founder of Sadberry Singer
Their conversation emphasized the need to address rural vs. urban gaps in access to energy, broadband internet, and technology infrastructure. Dr. Brown spoke about making clean energy solutions affordable and accessible, while Dr. Kay emphasized the power of innovation born from constraint, including how moments of political and economic “chill” can catalyze invention. The session encouraged participants to listen carefully to communities, find solvable problems, and design solutions people can access and afford.
AI’s Role in Transforming Healthcare
The research spotlight session, presented by Niloufar Eghbali, PhD candidate in Computer Science at MSU, showcased research on human-AI collaboration in critical care. Her work uses machine learning to improve intensive care unit (ICU) ventilation settings (increasing survival rates to 84 percent) and sedation and delirium medication dosing (achieving 29 percent dosing improvement). Eghbali emphasized that AI is not here to replace doctors, but to augment their judgment with data-driven precision. Her research demonstrated how thoughtful AI deployment can reduce workload, lower costs, and improve care quality, especially in high-stakes environments like the ICU.
Strengthening Networks and Building the Future
The summit concluded with roundtable discussions, where participants engaged in candid conversations about barriers, shared resources, and next steps. The day closed with a networking lunch and live performance from the MSU College of Music.
Five Key Takeaways from the Women in Tech Summit:
Build, Participate, Lead: As keynote speaker Shubhi Rao urged, women must be at the center of designing and leading the technologies of tomorrow.
Stay the Course: Amid policy shifts, entrepreneurs must stay focused on their values.
Design for Everyone: Closing the urban-rural gap in energy and technology access requires solutions that are affordable, practical, and community-driven.
AI + Humanity: AI can improve healthcare, but only when used to support—not supplant—the human judgment of clinicians.
Community is the Engine: Michigan’s innovation ecosystem thrives on shared knowledge, aligned partnerships, and unwavering collaboration.
To suggest speakers or topics for the 2026 summit, contact Anum at anum@msufoundation.org. For information about other upcoming events hosted by the MSU Research Foundation, visit msufoundation.org/events.
The Women in Tech Summit is part of 517 Entrepreneurship & Innovation Week (March 31–April 4, 2025), a collaborative series highlighting entrepreneurship across Michigan State University and the Greater Lansing region. Powered by LEAP and the Lansing Regional SmartZone, in partnership with the MSU Research Foundation, MSU Innovation Center, and the MSU Burgess Institute, the week connects all innovators, students, and industry partners to spark economic growth.
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About the Michigan State University Research Foundation
The MSU Research Foundation supports the Michigan State University ecosystem with resources that increase the impact of research and innovation. The Foundation achieves its mission through grant programs that contribute over $15 million annually to the University, entrepreneurial programming and early-stage investments that accelerate technology transfer and startup growth throughout Michigan, and environments where startup businesses and collaborators can thrive. The Foundation's work is made possible through its stewardship of a flexible and sustainable endowment, nourished by over 50 years of licensing revenues and investment returns. Learn more about the MSU Research Foundation and its impact at msufoundation.org.