Kalamazoo Valley to Offer Free Online IP Education to Students, Community Members

Kalamazoo Valley Community College announces an academic partnership with the Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property (MIIP) designed to democratize access to intellectual property education. Kalamazoo Valley is the only community college in the country to offer such education to the public at no cost.

As part of the collaboration, MIIP will provide the college with complete access to a portfolio of free intellectual property education course materials which includes books, videos, slides, and other assets on the topics of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and more.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to work with MIIP in enhancing the intellectual property education at Kalamazoo Valley Community College,” said Kalamazoo Valley’s Director of Corporate Training Kate Miller. “Through this partnership, we hope to better fulfill the intellectual needs of our students and empower all members of our community in catalyzing innovation.”

Instructors and students are able to leverage these resources in augmenting their intellectual property education coursework, establishing the foundation necessary for entrepreneurship and innovation to blossom.

Members of the Kalamazoo Valley community can join nearly 10,000 registrants of the fully digital Intellectual Property: Inventors, Entrepreneurs, Creators curriculum hosted online at Udemy.com. With 3.5 hours of on-demand learning video created by IP experts, and interactive features including 38 downloadable resources, registrants can learn how to protect and capitalize on the intellectual property that drives today’s knowledge-based economy.

“With nearly half of college graduates starting their post-secondary education at a community college, institutions like Kalamazoo Valley Community College are critical to fostering tomorrow’s entrepreneurs,” said Dr. Gary K. Michelson, inventor and founder of Michelson 20MM. “We’re proud to support the work of Kalamazoo Valley with IP-centered resources that will be used to train future startup founders and business leaders.”

To access the free non-credit instructional materials available to Kalamazoo Valley students, faculty and staff visit: http://michelsonip.com/teachip/#registration.

To access the free non-credit public offering through Udemy visit: https://www.kvcc.edu/programs/corporate_training/

Kalamazoo Valley Community College has four locations in Kalamazoo, Michigan - a main campus in Texas Township, the nearby Groves Campus, and the Arcadia Commons Campus and Bronson Healthy Living Campus in downtown Kalamazoo. The college offers certificate programs in more than 20 areas of study and associate degrees in 25 others. In addition, Kalamazoo Valley offers several non-credit career academies that are skill-focused, fast-paced, employer-driven training programs that prepare students for in-demand jobs in growing industries. A fully accredited institution, Kalamazoo Valley offers day and evening, online and weekend classes. It provides student-placement services and works closely with other institutions to ensure the transfer of students' credits for those interested in pursuing a four-year degree after goal completion at Valley. To learn more, visit www.kvcc.edu.

The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property, an initiative of the Michelson 20MM Foundation, addresses critical gaps in intellectual property education to empower the next generation of inventors by providing high-quality instructional content. Its library of free educational resources includes an interactive textbook, undergraduate IP curriculum, animated videos, and a self-paced online course.

Michelson 20MM was founded thanks to the generous support of renowned spinal surgeon Dr. Gary K. Michelson and his wife, Alya Michelson. To learn more, visit www.Michelson20mm.org.