The World's Largest Student Investment Conference Is Headed To Detroit This Month

New York and Chicago may get all the media attention, but the world's largest student investment conference is coming to Detroit.

Hosted by Wayne State University, ENGAGE 2015 International Investment Education Symposium is coming to Cobo Center on March 26 and 27. The two-day event is a unique opportunity for students to mingle with and hear from the best and brightest minds in the financial sector.

"[ENGAGE 2015] is in-line with the school's commitment to providing hands-on learning opportunities for our students," Dr. M. Roy Wilson, president of Wayne State University, told Benzinga. "We also like to engage with our community. It's in-line with both of those commitments that our school has."

Fred Tomczyk, president and CEO of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. AMTD, is among the speakers at the event.

"I think that it's a valuable experience not only for students but for professionals," Dr. Wilson added.

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Getting Engaged

Dr. Wilson said that when Robert Forsythe was appointed as dean of the Wayne State University School of Business Administration, he encouraged him to reach out to local businesses.

"One of the challenges I gave him was to get more engaged with the business community here," said Dr. Wilson. "I thought we were a little too isolated from the business community. [This event is] something that will help the school engage with the business community."

Dr. Wilson also said that he thinks it is important for students to be involved with that community and be aware of what's going on. He said ENGAGE 2015 will provide a tremendous networking opportunity for all who attend.

"There are a number of very practical breakout sessions that this conference will have, like how to get started," he said. "Students can participate in stock pitch tournaments."

Mainstream Exposure

Dr. Wilson also addressed the media attention that ENGAGE 2015 has brought to Wayne State.

"Certainly it's a lot of exposure," he said. "We have conferences all the time. Obviously this is a pretty big one. We're very pleased to be able to be the host for such a highly regarded and high visibility conference like this."

Wayne State also made an announcement regarding its law school.

"There's a lot of high-profile things we've been able to do," Dr. Wilson continued. "For example, just within this week we announced the Levin Center in [Wayne Law] in honor of Carl Levin. That's another big name exposure kind of thing where Wayne State will be favorably looked at. There's not too many people in the country that could do that. That'll give Wayne State's law school a big advantage."

Image credit: JasonParis, Flickr