Kauffman Foundation Announces 2013 Class of Global Scholars

Students, recent grads from Netherlands, Singapore, UK and US selected for intensive six-month entrepreneurship program

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today announced that 13 aspiring young entrepreneurs from the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States have been selected to participate in its 2013 Global Scholars Program. The 6-year-old program provides participants a six-month educational immersion in the field of entrepreneurship.

U.S. graduates are included for just the second time in the program’s history.

“The inclusion of U.S. Scholars for the first time in 2012 proved to be a strong enhancement to the program for all participants,” said Nancie Thomas, Global Scholars Program director. “By bringing together U.S. and international Scholars for education, internship and networking opportunities, we help to facilitate collaboration among those who will impact our global economy today and well into the future.”

The members of the 2013 class of Kauffman Global Scholars are:

1. Yating Hu of Detroit. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Wayne State University, Hu earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering in 2010 from the same institution.
2. Brandon Iglesias of New Orleans. A 2012 graduate of the DOE:EERE National Geothermal Academy, Iglesias earned master’s degrees in finance and business administration from Tulane University.
3. Hunter Kiley of Overland Park, Kan. A 2011 graduate of William Jewell College, Kiley earned bachelor’s degrees in business administration and science and technology management.
4. Wei Fong Lim of Singapore. Currently pursuing an MSc in technopreneurship and innovation at Nanyang Technological University, Lim earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2003 from the same institution.
5. Michael Manalastas of Singapore. Currently pursuing an MSc in technopreneurship and innovation at Nanyang Technological University, Manalastas earned a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2007 from Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
6. Kyle Miller of Washington, D.C. Miller earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration/finance from Georgetown University in 2012.
7. Shaun Miller of the United Kingdom. Miller earned a BSc in economics from the University of Bristol in 2012.
8. Marjolein Oomen of the Netherlands. Currently pursuing an MSc in business administration at the University of Groningen, Oomen earned a bachelor’s degree with a specialization in event management in 2010 from the Utrecht School of Arts.
9. Kelly Peeler of New York. Peeler graduated from Harvard University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in history.
10. Erick San Giorgi of the Netherlands. Currently pursuing a master’s degree in marketing at Erasmus University Rotterdam, San Giorgi earned his bachelor’s degree in business economics in 2011 from the same institution.
11. Ilya Tabakh of Mission, Kan. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in environmental engineering at the University of Kansas, Tabakh earned a master’s degree in computer engineering in 2007 from the same institution.
12. Samir Unni of Ballwin, Mo. Unni graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering.
13. Landon Young of West Lafayette, Ind. A 2012 graduate of Purdue University, Young earned a master’s degree in interdisciplinary ecological sciences and engineering.

International Scholars in the 2013 class are sponsored by SETsquared, a collaboration of five universities in the United Kingdom; Agentschap NL, an agency of the Dutch government; and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

The 2013 class of Global Scholars will meet at the Kauffman Foundation on Jan. 22 to begin their six-month program, which will include intensive workshops with leading scholars, policy leaders and business founders; visits to leading American universities; and three-month internships with companies in the Silicon Valley, Boston and other hubs of entrepreneurial activity.

The Kauffman Foundation began its Global Scholars Program in 2007 in collaboration with the UK government, then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and the National Council of Graduate Entrepreneurship. Since that time, the Kauffman Foundation has hosted students and faculty sponsored by governments and organizations from eight countries representing fourteen nationalities.