U.S. ambassador to Slovakia visits Purdue

Ambassador Adam Sterling, Honorary Consul Steven Zlatos and Purdue Foundry managing director Arnold Chen during a tour of the Foundry, pictured in front of Purdue annual startup targets. (Photo provided) Download image

On May 17, Discovery Park hosted a visit from Adam Sterling, U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, and Steven Zlatos, honorary consul of the Slovak Republic. 

Sterling’s interest in Discovery Park and Purdue lies at the nexus of entrepreneurship, innovation and tech transfer. During his half-day visit to West Lafayette, Sterling met with representatives from the Purdue Foundry, the Office of Corporate and Global Partnerships, and the Purdue Research Foundation. The visit is a follow-up to one made by representatives from the Technical University Košice and Comenius University in Slovakia in October 2014 to formulate plans to launch technology and science parks at the universities. Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship activities is a key priority of Slovakia, whose president, Andrej Kiska, is widely known for founding two startups of his own before entering politics. 

The ambassador’s visit to Purdue was part of a broader two-day visit to Indiana, which included meetings with the Indiana National Guard. ING has partnered with Slovakia since 1994 to promote security cooperation through the United States European Command’s State Partnership Program.

Writer: Amy Schlueter, aschlue@purdue.edu, 765-496-7823
Source: Cliff Wojtalewicz, cliffw@purdue.edu, 765-496-3961