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TUESDAY, FEB. 6, 2018 | IN THIS ISSUE
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Iowa City-based ACT this week announced a $7.5 million strategic investment in Smart Sparrow, an adaptive learning company based in Sydney, Australia and San Francisco.
Smart Sparrow is a leader in adaptive and personalized learning technology, with more than 10,000 faculty members worldwide currently using its courseware development platform and instructional design suite, according to ACT. Its platform can be used to create unique digital learning experiences such as simulations, smart lessons and interactive blended or online courses, while also providing real-time analytics on student performance.
"ACT recognizes the outstanding learning capabilities Smart Sparrow has brought to the global market, representing the leading edge of education technology and an abiding commitment to the role of great teachers," Marten Roorda, ACT's CEO, said in a press release. "This move is consistent with ACT's ambition to become a learning company, the value that we place on personalization and our commitment to develop adaptive learning. By investing in Smart Sparrow, we'll be helping people around the world learn more efficiently and effectively than ever before."
The two organizations will collaborate to accelerate work in learning innovation and expand on their shared mission to help individuals succeed academically. ACT joins other investors including Moelis Australia Asset Management, Yellow Brick Capital Advisers, OneVentures and Uniseed.
Smart Sparrow was founded in 2010 by Ariel Shoham, Dror Ben-Naim, Shaowei Ho and Zack Belinson, and has since raised more than $23 million in funding, according to TechStartups.com.
The deal marks the latest investment in edtech for ACT as it works to broaden its reach beyond its namesake college assessment. Last August ACT invested $10.5 million in New Markets Venture Partners, an investment firm focusing on education companies, and in May 2016 ACT
acquired OpenEd, a K-12 educational resource provider. That company joined Pacific Metrics, an ACT subsidiary, to form the company's ACT Assessment Technologies group, based in California.
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 New cyber training partnership aims to inspire young women
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has announced a new cyber training partnership between the SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network and Security) Institute and the state of Iowa designed to inspire the next generation of female cybersecurity professionals.
"I am excited that Iowa, in conjunction with the SANS Institute, is offering this program," Ms. Reynolds said in a statement. "It provides opportunities for growth - both for our state's young women and for STEM in our state."
GirlsGoCyberStart is a free online game of discovery that offers young women in grades 9-12 the opportunity to learn basic cybersecurity skills and test their cyber aptitude. Participants do not need any prior cybersecurity knowledge or IT experience.
Iowa's students will be competing against students from 16 other states and territories including: American Samoa, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Registration is open now, and will run through Feb. 16. The first 10,000 young women to register may play the game online from Feb. 20-25, with prizes to include computers and a trip to the 2018 Women in CyberSecurity Conference in Chicago. The three schools in Iowa with the most participants will win awards of $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000.
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TEDx coming to Cedar Rapids this May
The spirit behind TED, the annual conference gathering the world's leading thinkers and doers in the worlds of technology, entertainment and design, will come to Cedar Rapids this spring in the form of TEDx, a local, self-organized program produced under the nonprofit's banner.
Organized around the TED spirit of "
ideas worth spreading," TEDxCedar Rapids will bring "inspirational people and innovative ideas together to share a TED-like experience," according to a
Facebook announcement by the organizing group. It will be held May 12 from 1-5 p.m. at the Whipple Auditorium in the Cedar Rapids Public Library's downtown location.
The event will include keynote addresses, interactive breakout sessions and existing "TED Talk" videos aimed at exploring how the community can become "
a significant contributor of change-inspiring ideas." A full schedule will be released in March before a limited number of tickets go on sale.
More than 15,000 TEDx events have been held around the world since the program's launch in 2009, according to the TEDx website, including in Iowa City in 2011.
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IDx, a privately held artificial intelligence diagnostics company based in Iowa City, this week announced that it has filed its de novo submission to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for IDx-DR, an AI-based system for the autonomous detection of diabetic retinopathy - a leading cause of blindness.
The FDA has granted IDx-DR a "breakthrough device" designation, which means the submission will receive expedited review. The Breakthrough Devices Program is reserved for technologies that provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases.
If cleared by the FDA, IDx-DR is expected to become the first-of-its-kind autonomous, AI-based diagnostic system intended for use in the front lines of health care.
"The FDA's designation of IDx-DR as a 'breakthrough device' confirms what we have believed for a long time," Dr. Michael Abrà moff, founder and president of IDx, stated in a press release. "The health care system desperately needs a more efficient and cost-effective way to detect diabetic retinopathy. Too many patients go blind needlessly because they aren't diagnosed in time."
A practicing retina specialist at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics, Dr. Abrà moff works with many patients in his clinic who are already losing their vision because disease was caught too late, underscoring the need for a solution like IDx-DR.
If you'd like to learn more about IDx, consider attending the CBJ's coming Future of Technology event, which will feature IDx Chief Technology Officer
Meindert Niemeijer, an internationally recognized retinal image analysis expert. The event will be held March 6 at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center in Cedar Rapids. For more information, click here.
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UI Venture School registration closes today
Attention Iowa startups and entrepreneurs: Today is the last day to apply to the University of Iowa's spring edition of Venture School.
The program, produced by the UI's John Pappajohn Entreprenurial Center and offered statewide, emphasizes real-world entrepreneurship and innovation. Participants will gain marketing expertise and real-world knowledge and skills based on the National Science Foundation I-Corps curriculum, which is intended to help high-potential startups turn their ideas into reality.
The upcoming spring program will host locations in Iowa City, Des Moines, Dubuque, Sioux City and the Quad Cities. An online version of the program will also be offered to allow individuals across the state to participate in the program, regardless of their location.
The first team member to participate costs $299, with each additional team member costing an additional $99. Scholarship opportunities are available. For more information or to register, visit
www.venture-school.com.
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From around the web:
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Des Moines-based EMC Insurance Group has entered into a strategic partnership with an
insurtech startup aiming to help agents advance their digital capabilities, the Business Record reports.
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Eureka!
Forward the FREE, weekly CBJ Innovation Watch newsletter to your friends and colleagues, and share the feeling of being informed! Use our fast, one-minute subscription to the CBJ's newsletters
here, or check out our other subscription options
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Corridor Stocks
| NAME |
SYM |
PRICE |
CHG |
%CHG |
| AEGON |
AEG |
6.64 |
0.03 |
0.38% |
| Alliant Energy |
LNT |
37.53 |
-0.69 |
-1.81% |
| Deere & Company |
DE |
161.66 |
4.64 |
2.96% |
| Dow Jones |
^DJI |
24,912.77 |
567.02 |
2.33% |
| General Mills |
GIS |
55.78 |
1.77 |
3.28% |
| GoDaddy Inc. |
GDDY |
53.45 |
0.94 |
1.79% |
| Great Western Bank |
GWB |
41.77 |
0.68 |
1.65% |
| Heartland Express |
HTLD |
21.47 |
0.05 |
0.23% |
| KemPharm |
KMPH |
5.65 |
-0.50 |
-8.13% |
| Marsh & McLennan |
MMC |
82.25 |
-0.27 |
-0.33% |
| MidWestOne |
MOFG |
31.87 |
0.33 |
1.05% |
| Pearson |
PSO |
9.51 |
0.11 |
1.17% |
| Pepsico |
PEP |
113.56 |
-0.90 |
-0.79% |
| Principal Financial |
PFG |
64.54 |
0.99 |
1.56% |
| QCR Holdings |
QCRH |
44.20 |
0.20 |
0.45% |
| Rockwell Collins |
COL |
135.05 |
0.80 |
0.60% |
| S&P 500 |
^GSPC |
2,695.14 |
46.20 |
1.74% |
| Tanger Factory |
SKT |
23.55 |
-0.05 |
-0.21% |
| Procter & Gamble |
PG |
82.38 |
1.32 |
1.63% |
| United Fire Group |
UFCS |
40.98 |
-0.48 |
-1.16% |
| U.S. Bank |
USB |
54.59 |
-0.03 |
-0.05% |
| Wells Fargo |
WFC |
57.26 |
-0.90 |
-1.55% |
| West Bank |
WTBA |
24.00 |
-0.22 |
-0.91% |
| Whirlpool |
WHR |
173.72 |
1.84 |
1.07% |
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Short-Term Event Planner
Feb. 7
1 Million Cups
, by 1 Million Cups, 9-10 a.m., Geonetric, 415 12th Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Join for community connections, startup pitches and free coffee. Free. For more information, visit facebook.com/1MCICR.
Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance Annual Meeting,
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., DoubleTree by Hilton, 350 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids.
The Economic Alliance's annual meeting is the organization's signature event where nearly 1,100 business members learn about the organization's goals for the year ahead. Cost: $50, $500 for table of 10. To register, visit bit.ly/2BhuDfa.
Siren Wednesday
, by ImpactCR, 5-7 p.m., Della Viti, 203 First Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids. Siren Wednesdays are after work social at Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance member bars and restaurants. They occur on the first Wednesday of each month and serve as a way for young professionals to network in a unique environment. Free.
Feb. 8
Hiring and Retention Basics
, by ICAD Group and Kirkwood Community College, 8:30-10:30 a.m., MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City. This session will provide tools and insights to help you find and retain the best employees. Cost: $25. To register, call (319) 398-1022 or visit kirkwood.edu/ce.
Tax Reform Legislation for Global Businesses
, by Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, 2-4 p.m., Economic Alliance, 501 First St. SE, Cedar Rapids. Jim
Loizeaux, managing director of global tax services for CliftonLarsonAllen, will share information and answer questions about the 2017 tax reform legislation's impact on global businesses. Free. Register by Feb. 6 at bit.ly/2FQ79NF.
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Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
A man accused of homicide by vehicle after a body was found in a vehicle that plunged into Lake Delhi has pleaded not guilty. Joshua Juengel entered the written plea of not guilty on Tuesday. The Delaware County Sheriff's Office was called to the lake on Jan. 8, after a vehicle went through the ice near the north end of the lake. Rescue crews found the vehicle upside down in about eight feet of water. An underwater camera revealed 23-year-old Alex Salow of Delhi inside. Investigators say Mr. Juengel was with Mr. Salow in the vehicle when it went in the ice, which contradicts statements given to them by Mr. Juengel. They also found evidence showing the vehicle was being driven recklessly. Delaware County Sheriff John LeClere says there were tire marks on either side of where Mr. Salow's vehicle broke through the ice that indicate the vehicle was spinning doughnuts. Mr. Juengel's next court date has yet to be determined.
T
hese news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
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CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast
The weather will remain cold and active through the rest of the week in Eastern Iowa. There will be sunshine to start today and temperatures will just climb to near 10 degrees area-wide. Clouds will build in the afternoon as a weak disturbance approaches the area. Light snow will begin to move through the area after 6 p.m. and continue through the night. Accumulation will be light, generally around a half an inch to two inches of snow by Wednesday morning. The higher amounts will be near and south of Highway 30. Snow will wind down Wednesday morning and it will be cold with temperatures in the teens. Another weak disturbance will come in Thursday and bring some light snow.
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