A start-up company operated by students from the College of Engineering and Tippie College of Business have won the 2014 Student Startup of the Year Award, presented by the UI Office of Vice President for Research and Economic Development.

Chen Cui, a doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, and Emily Roberts, co-founder and COO, and an undergraduate student majoring in business/management and

spanish, received the award for their company, Western Wise Consulting.

Western Wise Consulting brings a new, easy, and affordable system of education to K-12 English learners through video-conferencing tutoring with native speakers. The management team has worked with hundreds of international students in improving their English and has over 20 years of TOEFL teaching experience collectively. Western Wise focuses on building a personal relationship with each young scholar, adapting lesson plans to fit their interests.

The award was presented at the Celebrating Excellence: Discovery and Innovation Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, April 28. The annual event recognizes faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholars/fellows, graduate students, undergraduate students and mentors who have demonstrated outstanding accomplishments to research in their field.