Participants in the 2017 Innovation Encounter gather for a photo at the end of the competition.
LTU photo / Matt Roush.

Lawrence Technological University will host its ninth annual Innovation Encounter Oct. 19 and 20 on the university’s Southfield campus.

Innovation Encounter is a two-day entrepreneurial boot camp in which students use both their engineering know-how and their creativity to design a viable solution to a real-world industry problem. Students stretch their skills in critical thinking, teamwork, time management, and technical knowledge.

In Innovation Encounter, collegiate teams work with industry professionals who ultimately evaluate team presentations about their proposed solutions and an accompanying business plan.

This year’s Innovation Encounter will be judged by a team from Carhartt Inc., the Dearborn-based manufacturer of premium workwear sold worldwide, which will present the real-world problem that student teams will be challenged to solve.

In prior years, Innovation Encounter has attracted competitors from all over the United States, from Gonzaga University in California to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. A wide variety of manufacturing companies have presented real-world problems for the students to solve.