LA CROSSE—Hundreds of faculty and student researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs from across the University of Wisconsin System will convene at UW-La Crosse for the WiSys SPARK Symposium, July 31-Aug. 2.

WiSys’ annual summer celebration of the UW System’s best and brightest focuses on: 

• Seeding cross-campus networking and collaboration.
• Highlighting impactful faculty research at regional UW campuses.
• Showcasing student research and innovative projects.

“WiSys is thrilled to partner with UW-La Crosse to provide a venue for our signature summer event where we hope to spark new ideas and collaboration,” said WiSys President Arjun Sanga. “UW-La Crosse has a beautiful campus and is nationally-recognized for providing high-quality research experiences for their students. It’s an ideal setting for the WiSys SPARK Symposium. Many thanks to Chancellor Dr. Joe Gow for making it happen.”

Established in 1909, UW-La Crosse offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees. With 9,600 undergraduate and 1,000 graduate students, UW-La Crosse is composed of four schools and colleges offering 102 undergraduate programs, 31 graduate programs, and 2 doctoral programs.

"The WiSys SPARK Symposium is one of the premiere conferences of its kind in the Midwest and we are so honored to be hosting this year's gathering on our campus,” said UW-La Crosse Chancellor Dr. Joe Gow. “It is a clear indication that our outstanding relationship with WiSys is growing even stronger."

This year’s event will be WiSys’ first in-person symposium since 2019, when UW-Stout hosted the event under a different name.

The gathering had been known as the Wisconsin Science & Technology Symposium, or WSTS. It began as a venue for faculty to share their research results. Today, the symposium has a greater focus on student engagement, entrepreneurial innovation and research across all disciplines—not just science and technology.

“Since the first WiSys symposium more than a decade ago, our event and our organization has grown significantly,” said WiSys President Arjun Sanga. “The new name captures the spirit of what WiSys is trying to accomplish, namely sparking ideas, collaboration and entrepreneurship.”

You can find more information about the symposium, or register to attend at wisys.org/spark.

WiSys is a nonprofit organization that works with faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the UW System to facilitate cutting-edge research programs, develop and commercialize discoveries and foster a spirit of innovative and entrepreneurial thinking across the state.