More than a dozen UMass Lowell students attended the annual IDEA Con innovation conference at Boston University, where senior liberal arts major Sandi DeRuntz spoke about her ZipperBuddy venture.

Business alum Jeurys Santiago ’23 and computer science alum Nuno Mestre ’24 were named to the Boston Business Journal’s annual BostInno 25 Under 25 list, thanks in part to their winning DifferenceMaker projects at UML.

Students can customize their studies to meet their personal interests and goals through the Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree. They choose two concentrations among 27 options in UML’s flexible, interdisciplinary program.

Be it in the classroom or on his LinkedIn videos, Manning School of Business adjunct faculty member Kevin Willett teaches students about the power of networking, entrepreneurship and perseverance.

The inaugural Lowell High Idea Challenge, a business pitch competition held in collaboration with UMass Lowell’s Rist DifferenceMaker Institute and Project LEARN, provided high school students with hands-on entrepreneurial experience and mentorship from faculty and local business leaders.

Forty-seven students graduated with River Hawk Experience Distinction (RHED) cords this year, the most in the program’s six-year history. Students can earn a RHED credential in leadership, entrepreneurship, global engagement, community engagement or sustainability.

Mechanical engineering graduate student Joshua Landis ’22 took home the top prize at the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute’s 12th annual $50,000 Idea Challenge with SparkCell Technologies, his fast and cost-effective way to detect problems in concrete structures.

The Robotics Club is looking to make a difference in people’s lives with its robotic guide dog invention, which the club has entered into the SICK $10K Challenge and the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute’s $50K Idea Challenge.

Proven Provisions, a business started by health sciences alum Christianto Putra ’16, ’21 and his wife, plastics engineering alumna Raissa Yona ’15, recently introduced its first gluten-free, high-protein waffle mix.

UMass Lowell alumni Louis Cirignano ’20, Khyteang Lim ’16, ’18 and Tatiana Tompkins ’21 are helping people save for vacations and other major purchases with their FAM Social Finance app.

A new interdisciplinary course, Adaptive Devices for Better Life, brings together students majoring in art and design, physical therapy and kinesiology, engineering and biology to create devices that assist disabled clients from the community.

Business alum Benjamin McEvoy ’21 has turned his DifferenceMaker project Benji Ball into a game that’s now being played in nearly 200 school districts in 41 states across the country.

Zipper Buddy, a clothing attachment that helps people with limited mobility to zipper their jacket, took the top prize at the Rist DifferenceMaker Institute’s Francis College of Engineering Prototyping competition at University Crossing.

Bean Hub, an artificial intelligence solution to improve the mobile banking experience, took the top prize at the 11th annual DifferenceMaker DCU/Manning School of Business Innovation Contest.

Plastics engineering alum Cormac Hondros-McCarthy ’16 is developing a ropeless lobster fishing system, LiftLabs, to protect the endangered North American right whale and prevent the loss of fishing gear.