Public Sector, Education & Research

New York – October 28, 2026 -- The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has advanced two Dallas students from its South Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase to the U.S. National Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase on Nov. 18, 2026, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

Two Career Institute North students win the South region

Gizelle Terrones won with Gigi's Homers, a business offering data-driven training and specialized pitching machines for competitive softball athletes. Carlos Anez, from the same school, advanced with the Powerful AI Hydration Bottle, a smart water bottle that uses AI to manage daily hydration.

Both will compete against top youth entrepreneurs from across the country. National participants can advance to the World Finals on Nov. 19 at 787 Seventh Avenue in New York City.

New York – October 28, 2026 -- Four students from Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Michigan have won places at the National Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase on Nov. 18, 2026, at the Marriott Marquis in New York City, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) announced. Winners emerged from Midwest showcases in St. Louis, Chicago and satellite competitions, where students pitched to panels of judges, community leaders and business professionals.

Four ventures span AI, media, hardware and gig-style work platforms

Malik Oladokun of Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois, advances with Helply, an AI-powered platform that connects young people with community service opportunities. Jayla Moore of STEAM Academy of McCluer South-Berkeley High School in Ferguson, Missouri, is bringing Mindset, a storytelling platform built around fictional and relatable stories, reflection and anonymous engagement.

New York – October 28, 2026 -- The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has advanced Isla Hughes of Ipswich High School in Massachusetts to the U.S. National Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase on Nov. 18, 2026, at the New York Marriott Marquis, with Nova Guide, an adaptive AI study co-pilot for students with executive function challenges.

Hughes will represent New England against top student founders nationwide

Hughes was selected as the top venture at the New England Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase from a pool of student-led businesses. NFTE credits her innovative thinking and persuasive pitch delivery.

At the national event, she will compete with top student entrepreneurs from across the country. The winner advances to the World Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase on Nov. 19, 2026, at 787 Seventh Avenue in New York City.

New York – October 28, 2026 -- The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and BUILD.org plan to merge into a nonprofit serving more than 350,000 students annually, with a projected operating budget of about $18 million. The deal is pending regulatory approval.

BUILD will become the first organization in NFTE's planned "family of brands," a longer-term strategy to consolidate mission-aligned entrepreneurship education groups. The two nonprofits have a combined 67 years of operating history.

Combined organization targets an $18 million annual operating budget

The merged entity will pair NFTE's national and global reach, educator training and research capabilities with BUILD's relationship-centered, experiential learning model. Both organizations rely on project-based learning, and the merger plan calls for combining NFTE's entrepreneurial mindset curriculum with BUILD's Spark Skills.

United States – October 28, 2026 -- NFTE has published a NEXUS policy brief with three recommendations for policymakers and education leaders on preparing students for an AI-driven workforce. The brief is titled "Entrepreneurship Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: How AI Literacy, Entrepreneurial Learning, and Human Skills Can Prepare Students for the Future of Work."

NFTE argues technical AI literacy alone falls short for students

The brief says the question for schools is shifting from whether students will use generative AI to how they use it thoughtfully, critically, and creatively. It names critical thinking, creativity, communication, adaptability, and entrepreneurial skills as necessary for working alongside AI.

New York – October 28, 2026 -- NFTE and BUILD, two U.S. youth entrepreneurship education nonprofits, are combining into a single organization that will reach more than 350,000 students a year, according to a letter from President and CEO Dr. J.D. LaRock to both communities.

Merged group will teach in schools, communities, out-of-school programs and online

The combined organization covers in-school, community, out-of-school and online delivery. LaRock cites educator training and research among its strongest capabilities, plus multi-year commitments to individual students rather than single-semester programs. The merger also joins New York and Silicon Valley under one purpose, a combination LaRock says exists nowhere else in the field.

North America – October 27, 2026 -- WaitWell scored 9.4 out of 10 in its own ranking of six higher-education enrollment management platforms, ahead of Slate by Technolutions (8.4) and Salesforce Education Cloud (8.0). The vendor-published guide scored platforms on seven weighted dimensions, including recruitment CRM depth, student-services experience, SIS integration, multi-campus support and total cost of ownership.

WaitWell targets the student-services gap that CRMs leave open

The guide argues that CRMs track the recruitment funnel but do not manage on-campus problems such as registrar lines during add/drop week, financial aid waits at peak enrollment and advising no-shows. WaitWell positions itself as a complement to the CRM, not a replacement. It does not manage prospect databases, application processing, yield campaigns or funnel reporting.

Lakeland – October 27, 2026 -- Florida Southern College has begun building a four-greenhouse citrus and horticulture complex and reopened its modernized Miller Planetarium, backed by state, federal and private funding. Both milestones were marked at a joint ceremony on Oct. 22.

Albritton complex anchors the College's citrus education push

The Ben and Missy Albritton Citrus and Horticulture Complex is named for Florida Senate President Ben Albritton, a College alumnus who studied horticulture there, and his wife. Guests signed a steel beam that will become a permanent part of the structure. Once completed, the four greenhouses will support hands-on learning and experimentation.

Board of Trustees Chairman Keith Berend noted that the College once offered what was the nation's only bachelor's degree dedicated to citrus.

MARRAKECH – October 27, 2026 -- The International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA), which counts more than 190 member anti-corruption authorities worldwide, will hold its 2026 annual conference in Marrakech, Morocco, on November 25, marking the organisation's 20th anniversary.

Hong Kong's ICAC and Morocco's INPPLC co-host the conference

The event is co-hosted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption of Hong Kong, China (ICAC) and Morocco's National Authority for Probity, Prevention and Fight Against Corruption (INPPLC). Its theme is "Building on 20 Years of Legacy: Drawing Strength from the Past, Guarding Global Integrity for the Future."

IAACA President Woo Ying-ming, who also serves as ICAC Commissioner, urged international counterparts to attend, describing the gathering as a pivotal moment for collective action on integrity risks.

Portland – October 27, 2026 -- Multnomah County, Oregon, migrated a decade-old SQL Server environment to a modern data platform in five months, a timeline that public sector organizations often stretch over years, according to a session at this year's Snowflake Summit.

Multnomah County replaces undocumented SQL Server estate with AI-assisted migration

The county's legacy environment spanned dozens of business intelligence workloads and had been built by engineers who had since left. Documentation was sparse, the architecture was inconsistent and costs were climbing.