Excerpt from Frankly Speaking – November 2023

Students and faculty from around the world enrich campus life and find success at Queens College. Case in point: Malaika Qaisar and Hannan Ahmed, the top-scoring team in the QC round of this year’s Blackstone LaunchPad Ideas Competition, came from Pakistan. Their business concept falls within the consumer products and services category. I had the fantastic opportunity last week to congratulate the winners and their mentors. I commend Malaika and Hannan on their win and wish them the best of luck on December 8, when they will represent QC in the CUNY-wide tier of the contest. They have also entered the TechImpact Startup Competition hosted by the QC Tech Incubator and Accompany Capital, which helps immigrant, refugee, and underserved entrepreneurs grow their businesses. I wish all the LaunchPad participants continued success, both academically and professionally.

– QC President Frank H. Wu

From left: Luc Marest, Hannan Ahmed, Malaika Qaisar, President Frank H. Wu, and Karl Mitchell

Luc Marest (Economics), campus director for Blackstone LaunchPad; President Frank H. Wu; Blackstone student participants Tashifa Farooq, Nicole Haller, Emily Haller, and Ming Lei; Karl Mitchell (Economics), mentor for contestants.

Afrika’s Struggle Moderates Panel Discussion – QView (#162)

Standing at left, Karl Mitchell (Economics) moderated the panel on Overcoming Challenges as a Black Entrepreneur.

On October 6, QC hosted the 18th annual BMI Conference: Legacy Building through Business and Entrepreneurship. Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, President Frank H. Wu, and Project ExCEL Executive Director and Academic Advisor Rajiv Singh were among the speakers at the plenary session. The panel on Overcoming Challenges as a Black Entrepreneur, moderated by Karl Mitchell (Economics), included Reginald Wills ’22, co-founder of Collabiversity, which took first place in the network round of the national Blackstone LaunchPad Business Ideas Competition, under the category of Social and Climate Impact (see QView 150).

The CUNY BMI Career and Internship Fair, organized in collaboration with the Queens College Office of Career Engagement and Internships, debuted at this conference.