Millennials are regarded as the most entitled and narcissistic generation or the next great generation. Whichever stance you take, the reality is this: They’re here, they’re talented, and they’re about to change everything, including employee benefits strategies. Companies that want to thrive must adapt to the needs and desires of this new worker. A panel of HR experts will discuss:

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When Katie Douthwaite finished her degree in management, her heart was dead set on a dream job: "to head up a bakery." Her eyes soon fell upon a posting for a general manager at a cupcake shop in Atlanta. She "jumped at the chance," she shares on the Daily Muse, for her confectionery career was so close she could taste it.

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While Wisconsin continues to lag in the creation of net new companies, directions in sectors that are sources of young, high-growth companies promise to help over time. Here are 10 trends shaping the future of Wisconsin's tech-based economy:

Campus entrepreneurism: A decade ago, it was difficult to find organized entrepreneurial education programs on Wisconsin campuses, the exceptions being the Weinert Center of Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship at Marquette University. Today, such programs are relatively widespread and popular. At the UW-Whitewater, for example, the "Launch Pad" is a student business incubator. At UW-Madison, a dormitory floor has been set aside for self-identified entrepreneurs. This campus fad won't soon fade.

What if we could take the top talent coming out of colleges and universities today, those that tend to feed into law school, med school, Wall Street and consulting, and put them in startups all over the country? Imagine the job growth possibilities we could create in the country just by giving recent graduates a taste of that entrepreneurial bug. Now, what if I told you there's an organization trying to do just that. Enter--Venture for America.

The European Parliament has formally approved Horizon 2020, the funding programme for research and innovation for the 2014-2020 period, almost putting the final seal on a budget tranche that would rise by 30% from the current period to a total of €80 billion. Publication of the first calls for proposals will take place early next month (11 December), if EU member states now formally agree the move.

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Bob Dylan, the 72-year-old folk idol, disrupted the music video industry this week, releasing an interactive video for the 1965 classic "Like a Rolling Stone." Yes, you heard that right: Bob Dylan, 21st-century innovator.

If you haven't seen the viral project yet, which by Wednesday morning had 1 million unique visitors, according to the company behind the magic, Interlude, watch it. Or at least part of it; it's impossible to see the entire thing in one sitting. The clip features 60 distinct videos, each a reenactment of what looks like a very real television program re-dubbed with "Like a Rolling Stone."

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When you do your Thanksgiving shopping this week, you will encounter two vastly different options for the centerpiece: an expensive heritage, organic, antibiotic-free, freshly killed turkey; or a relatively cheap, mass-produced, rock-solid-frozen bird. The frozen birds are a pretty attractive deal — especially because this time of year, they are unusually cheap. According to government data, frozen whole-turkey prices drop significantly every November; over the last decade, retail prices have fallen an average of 9 percent between October and November.

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Samsung has chosen London as the next location to launch an 'Open Innovation Center' as it seeks to increase its focus on software development. The electronics firm turned its attention to start-ups at the beginning of the year, by opening its first open innovation centre in Silicon Valley and giving it a remit to make strategic investments, acquisitions, partnerships and act as an accelerator.

It's not just the hotly contested 2.3 percent medical device tax that is presenting a setback to the medical device industry. According to Paul Teitelbaum, managing director with Mesirow Financial's Investment Banking Practice, medical device companies have also been hit hardest by a lack of venture capital funding. DOTmed News spoke with Teitelbaum about why funds are being pulled away from med tech and what it means for the industry.

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If you happen to be one of the millions of people who bought S&P tracker funds over the past decade, you're smarter than most venture capitalists. Since 2000, the average VC company has under-performed versus the S&P 500 . Welcome to the lie of the 1%, which says that everything is cozy at the top, and that you really need to be up there is you want to make any money. Turns out, you'd do better just betting on the market.

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Think you want to raise venture capital? You’d better be prepared to deliver a pretty big return on investment to VCs. Before you waste your time and that of the VC by asking for a meeting, make sure your business can leap the bar set by VCs.

Here’s 10 characteristics your company must have to make that jump.

1.) Target a large, lucrative market Mona Bijoor, of JOOR, raised $20.5 million by streamlining buying between brands and retailers for one of the largest markets in the world – the $350 billion luxury fashion market.”

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The overall EU budget for 2014 – 2020 has been voted through, securing a budget of €79 billion for Horizon 2020 and meaning the first calls can be launched as promised on December 11.

"The vote today by the European Parliament was a vote for a modern, future-oriented budget that puts more emphasis than ever on research and innovation,” said EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.

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With the Parliament having approved the EU’s budget for the next seven years, as well as the legislative package for Horizon 2020, the attention of researchers across Europe is now turning to the finer details. In the coming weeks, Science|Business will see what’s on offer in the various draft work programmes, kicking off with ‘Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation, which will receive 1.06 per cent of the €70 billion budget, with the aim of addressing the growing divide between Europe’s innovation leaders and followers.

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BTC China, the world’s largest exchange for the digital currency bitcoin, recently secured a first round of financing, backed by Lightspeed China Partners and U.S.-based Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Also this week, the price of bitcoin rallied to a record level in the wake of comments by U.S. government officials that pointed to some of the benefits of such virtual currencies, as well as their risks.

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The venture capital firm that placed early bets on social media powerhouses Twitter Inc. and Tumblr Inc. is leaning on its success to raise a pair of new funds totaling $300 million. New York-based Union Square Ventures aims to raise $150 million apiece for USV 2014 LP, the firm’s fourth early-stage fund, and USV Opportunity 2014 LP, its second late-stage pool, by mid-December, according to investment documents viewed by Dow Jones. Following the close, Union Square will put that capital to work in the first quarter of next year.

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Food security is deeply connected to other development challenges and poor health. Michael Hoevel traces the links.

Food security addresses one of humankind’s most fundamental needs — access to a nutritious and adequate diet. It is also seen as a fundamental right, as stated by the UN in its Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Yet a staggering 842 million people around the world still suffer from undernourishment, 98 per cent of whom live in developing countries. Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest concentration of food insecurity of any region, while South Asia has the highest overall number of hungry people, currently an estimated 295 million (See figures 1 and 2).

The only thing that’s predictable about the annual Tokyo Motor Show is the unpredictability of the strange concept cars on the floor.

The 2013 iteration, opening today, doesn't deviate from the script. While it can be difficult to categorize what's on display, or even to find a theme among the high-tech concept vehicle, the most high-profile cars at the 2013 show cast the future of automotive design as wearable technology that also moves you down the road.

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In case the recent Obamacare debacle didn't make it clear enough, the government has some serious problems getting technology to work correctly. This is something that President Obama has recognized in the past. In July, he made this statement: "I’m going to be asking more people around the country--more inventors and entrepreneurs and visionaries--to sign up to serve. We’ve got to have the brightest minds to help solve our biggest challenges."

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With funding from an array of venture capitalists and investors, four education startups are getting support from the Education Design Studio Inc. (EDSi), a new hybrid incubator and seed fund established by the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.   Dr. Barbara Kurshan of GSE describes the  $2.1 million EDSi as a "new innovation ecosystem we are building for entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and teachers." A mash up of an incubator, design studio, seed fund and social impact company, EDSi is virtual for now, as it helps launch four startups: Adidapter, ApprenNet, Raise Labs and scrible.  GSE is actively searching for a physical location in Philadelphia, where it expects to locate EDSi next year. 

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I’ll confess up front: I have terrible posture. It’s been bad since I was in high school at least, and probably for even longer than that. It’s one of those things I keep in the back of my mind as something I know I should do, but never get around to, like eating more vegetables and sending more postcards.

It’s really interesting to explore commonly held assumptions for Buffer blog, because I often find out surprising things. Researching how our posture affects us was no different. If you’re like me and struggle to sit up straight when you know you should, you might like this post.

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