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www.HartfordBusiness.com • August 20, 2018 • Hartford Business Journal 11 the future. In all, UConn's combined 232,000 square feet of downtown learning and community space represents a $140 million investment. About half of UConn's downtown Hartford student body is grad stu- dents who skew toward business and social-work programs, with some studying education and public policy. "The rest are undergraduates from a wide range of backgrounds," Overmyer-Velazquez said. Community connections Prospective UConn students list their top two of UConn's five campuses. Those not accepted to Storrs are considered by the Hartford campus if they put it on their wish list. Some students list the Hartford campus as their first choice. There are cur- rently nine ma- jors students can complete in their entirety at UConn Hartford. But many students split their time between Hartford and Storrs, while others are part of the "Spring to Storrs" program in which they spend a semester in Hartford be- fore transferring to the main campus. "Every student has total accessibil- ity to all the services on the Storrs campus," said Robin Shefts, assistant director of UConn Hartford's Center for Career Development. "It really doesn't matter if you're on the Hart- ford campus or the Stamford cam- pus, you are a UConn student." Shefts' department has been work- ing to create a direct pipeline from UConn Hartford to the local business community. Companies ranging from Travel- ers and Target to TheaterWorks have participated in the Center for Career Development's Career Conver- sations series, Shefts said. The program brings people from area businesses to the Hartford Times building to talk to students about their companies, and what hiring officers look for in job candidates. "It's really to meet our stu- dents and have conversations about opportuni- ties, and where they may want to intern or eventually seek employment," said Shefts, who noted program at- tendance steadily grew. UConn Hartford students and fac- ulty are also engaging neighboring FOCUS in much greater quantities than can be filled locally at the moment. Insurtech startups are also look- ing for a diverse set of skills. They need help in refining their business models to meet customer demands, building and testing the algorithms that power their technologies, and in developing methods of analyzing data and reporting it in clear and us- able ways to help improve decision- making for their customers. Q. The Greater Hartford region seems to be focused on becoming a hub for insurtech. Several insurance technology organizations, includ- ing an accelerator, have launched in Hartford. Did the launch of this program dovetail with the increased focus on insurtech in the region? A. The launch of the program absolutely dovetails nicely with the increased focus on insurtech in the region. Insurtechs are altering the ter- rain on which companies compete, and incumbents are investing in emerg- ing companies as well as in their own internal technological capabilities. Some of the more recent investments include Allianz's $96 million investment in micro-insurer BIMA; Hartford Steam Boiler's (Munich Re) $45 million invest- ment in on-demand insurer Trov; and property and casualty software pro- vider Guidewire's $275 million acquisi- tion of cyber-risk startup Cyence. Q. How rare is it for two universities to launch a joint program? A. While it is rare to collaborate on launching a single program, we were very pleased to receive a joint cur- riculum innovation grant from the Spencer Educational Foundation to support our combined efforts. And, the opportunity to work together was further encouraged and championed by CTNext, a subsidiary of Connecti- cut Innovations. We hope to include additional univer- sities in our insurtech program. Also, we are working with Wesleyan Univer- sity and corporate partners to launch a program designed to train researchers in universities and corporations to en- courage engagement in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. Continued on next page >> Hitting the Books Snapshot of UConn Hartford's undergraduate academic programs Business administration Business data analytics Financial management English Human development and family studies Psychological sciences Urban and community studies Social work Public policy Source: UConn Hartford Quality Construction + Butler Manufacturing = Repeat Customers www.borghesibuilding.com © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. 2155 East Main Street • Torrington, Connecticut 06790 Nufern, East Granby, CT | 1989 | 40,000 sq. ft. 2013 | Addition — 20,000 sq. ft. Contact us at 860-482-7613 or visit us on the web. Tumble Brook Country Club | Bloomfield SUN SEVEN STAR INVESTMENT Contact us at info@whchamber.com or (860)523-2100 www.whchamber.com