Evelyn Truong ’23, ’24 MS grew up in Vietnam, witnessing firsthand the stark health care disparities faced by marginalized communities due to inadequate resources and technology. While the University of St. Thomas alumna aspires to bridge the gap in health care disparities, by one day creating solutions to make quality health care affordable and attainable, she also hopes to address the scarcity of essential medical equipment in underserved hospitals and transform the future of health care. Her master’s degree in electrical engineering and experience with the university’s New Product Tech Venture Program are preparing her to achieve her dreams.
Truong was a part of a New Product Tech Ventures team that created and planned PosturePredict, a nonintrusive posture correction device that uses a person’s personal camera to help them maintain better posture while working.
Her team developed a fully working final product, receiving a letter of intent from a potential customer.
“Innovation doesn’t stop at graduation, and I want to see how far I can take this idea,” Truong said, who also received her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from St. Thomas. “At the same time, I’d love to give back by helping other students in the program — whether that’s sharing my experience, offering advice, or just being a resource for those following a similar path.”
The inaugural cohort of the NPTV program graduated in December 2024. The cohort consisted of Amarachukwu Anieke, Evelyn Truong, John Endris, Srajan Pillai and CJ Warren.
The New Product Tech Ventures (NPTV) is a 15-month Fellowship Program for graduate students pursuing a master's degree in engineering, software, data science or information technology from the School of Engineering at the University of St. Thomas. This highly selective program is designed to provide a cohort of up to 15 graduate students with a unique combination of skills in engineering, software, business, and entrepreneurship, and to prepare them for careers as leaders and innovators in industry as entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs.
“The idea for this actually grew out of something we were already doing well - our undergraduate Engineering Design Clinic, where students create products and prototypes for industry partners based on real requirements and constraints posed by our partners," said Dr. Kundan Nepal, director of NPTV and professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "We saw a chance to take our engineers' strong design, prototyping and problem-solving skills a step further by teaching them the business side of innovation. The idea was simple: provide a lens into product development process and help these technically talented students learn the language and perspective needed to sell their ideas outside the engineering world. We put a big emphasis on customer or problem discovery. We wanted to flip students' thinking from 'here's a cool solution, now where's the problem?' to 'let's find a problem worth solving first, then build the right solution,'" he added.
The program launched with a focused pilot of five fellows, giving them a unique window into the full product development journey. Partners in the launch include Dean Don Weinkauf, other engineering faculty, as well as Alec Johnson, an associate professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship at the Opus College of Business, and Jack Dempsey, the new Schulze Executive Fellow of Entrepreneurial Practice at the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship.
“They have really helped get this program going,” Nepal said about his colleagues, adding that Dempsey and Johnson, "embraced the program from the beginning. They made a number of changes to their Tech Innovation course aimed at the fellows based on our first offering last spring." The first cohort also weighed in, leading to the program to incorporate lunch and learns and additional networking opportunities.
“This program isn’t just about preparing a student for a specific job market,” Nepal said. “Our goal is to equip our graduate students in engineering with a unique lens into the entire product development process.”
Fellows get to learn about product development, market analysis and business planning with an existing company or learn to launch their own venture through this program.
Amarachukwu Anieke, a master’s student in manufacturing, is fueled by a passion for innovation and precision, sparked by an internship in the cathodic protection industry in Nigeria. Anieke is committed to sustainably utilizing natural resources to tackle local challenges, with the goal of applying their manufacturing expertise back in Nigeria.
They worked on “a Mobile Poultry Processing Unit,” a project that aims to produce technology for small-scale farmers in Minnesota. After conducting empathy interviews, the team pivoted from their original plan.
“That insight completely changed our direction,” Anieke said. “This meant not only rethinking our technical approach but also working with regulators to ensure compliance.”
The team found that processing limitations and regulatory challenges have been the primary barrier for farmers, rather than the cost of feed. This led them to design a mobile processing solution, providing farmers with greater flexibility and control over poultry production.
“This experience taught me that true innovation isn’t just about technology, it’s about listening, adapting and solving real-world challenges in a meaningful way,” Anieke said.
In fall 2024, the second group of NPTV fellows began their journey with a strong start.
The NPTV fellows secured the top two places in the fall semester Fowler Business Concept Challenge, and one fellow won the Business Plan Competition.
“These early successes highlight our program’s effectiveness in developing entrepreneurial skills and mindsets,” Nepal said.
Now NPTV welcomes their third cohort of graduates, continuing to improve and strengthen the young program.
