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THE BUSINESS WORLD HAS A NEW ALLY: www.freeRandD.com

Z-Man Corporation
Press Release

Internet site brings industry and talented university students together

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - September 26, 2006 - It's a match made in cyberspace: Thanks to the innovative new Web site www.freeRandD.com, university students and companies looking for one another for research-and-development related activities can finally connect.

Approximately 6 million companies ranging from small startups to government agencies to non-profits struggle with funding and staffing research-and-development projects. But with these tight economic times, businesses may feel they cannot pursue all of the projects of interest.

Meanwhile, more than 2 million university seniors and graduate students are heading back to school this fall. Their thoughts are consumed with what to do for a senior design (capstone) project, and ways to land that all-important first job. And work experience often serves as the difference between "We'll call you" and "You've got the job."

It was this conundrum that led founders Gerald B. Zerfas and Howard A. Wright to create freeRandD.com, the first Web site of its kind that serves as a meeting place between companies and university students.

Here's how it works: A company posts a research-and-development project that it is looking for a university student(s) to work on. Projects can be in areas like engineering, businesses, graphic arts, behavioral and medical sciences and others. University students can list their biography. FreeRandD.com then allows its users to search through the listings according to field of study. There are no costs for students or companies to view and respond to listings.

Students benefit because the site gives them access to quality research-and-development projects, which allows them to demonstrate what they have learned by addressing a real world problem and gain valuable work experience. Companies receive priceless access to top student talent that can help them complete projects key to their growth.

As a bonus, students and companies can list their information for free through Feb. 1, 2007 as the Web site officially launches. After that date, students can list their bios for $40 and industry can list their projects for $150.

Statistics show that students with work experience often have an easier time in today's tough job market. Nationwide, more than half of employers end up offering full-time positions to students that intern or work with them, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (www.naceweb.org). The NACE also found that more than 85 percent of businesses who hire these students find these employees have a higher retention rate than others.

FreeRandD.com is jointly owned by Gerald B. Zerfas and Howard A. Wright, both of Grand Rapids, MI. The two formed a business partnership to develop freeRandD.com after working together successfully on multiple projects.

Zerfas has 22 years of product and business experience in industries including defense, medical, industrial controls and housewares. He also has first-hand knowledge of the challenges of funding, staffing and conducting research and development projects for venture startups and a Fortune 100 company, and the struggles students face in finding a capstone project to work on.

Wright graduated from Kendall College of Art & Design and served as a creative/systems supervisor for the graphics department of a Grand Rapids engineering firm. He then joined a prepress facility, where he specialized in Web development and multimedia. In 1997, Wright helped form Michigan Epic, a company dedicated to creating Web-based educational content for K-12 students.

If you would like more information, please contact Gerald Zerfas at (616) 281-6108 or email gzerfas@freeRandD.com. Zerfas also can speak as an expert on topics related to www.freeRandD.com.

NOTE: FreeRandD.com logo artwork in Color or B&W can be accessed and downloaded from http://www.freeRandD.com/pr/

Possible ways to include www.freeRandD.com in your articles:

 

  • The challenges of conducting research in today's tough economic times
  • How students are finding creative ways to gain real work experience
  • New ways companies are recruiting college and graduate students
  • How businesses can use technology/Internet to cut costs or save money on personnel
  • How two forward-thinking business men created a Web site to solve an age-old problem of helping university students find the projects they need to graduate
    • published date: 10-30-2006