Editor’s Note: Liz Sara, chair of the Board of Advisors for the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, is looking ahead to 2017. She offers these insights on the technology sector. By LIZ SARA

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship produces Bootstrapped, a podcast featuring founders, investors and serial entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Elana Fine, Managing Director of the Dingman Center, and Joe Bailey, Associate Research Professor at the Smith School. Each episode brings a different startup story to life with special guests offering advice and lessons learned on topics that range from fundraising and marketing to team formation and customer acquisition.

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business has helped power UMD to sustaining high placements in the 2017 “Best Schools for Entrepreneurship” rankings by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneurship Magazine.

Editors Note: Liz Sara, chair of the Board of Advisors for the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, is looking ahead as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. She offers these insights.  By LIZ SARA

Professors at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business placed No. 1 in the world for "faculty quality" in The Economist's 2016 full-time MBA rankings, marking the third consecutive year atop the category. Prior to the current run, the school finished No. 2 for faculty quality in 2013. Overall, the Smith School finished No. 47 globally and No. 32 in the United States in the latest rankings, released Oct. 13.

According to the recently released “Women in the Workplace 2016” study conducted by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey, women remain underrepresented at every level in corporate America, from entry-level to c-suite positions. They are also underrepresented in the entrepreneurial world, launching only 41 percent of new businesses on average in the last two decades, with that number falling. But the Robert H. Smith School of Business is committed to helping boost the numbers of women in business and women creating startups.

Following 11 years at the University of Maryland, the Cupid’s Cup entrepreneurship competition will expand its reach to other U.S. campuses starting in March 2017. The first host outside Maryland will be Northwestern University in Chicago, starting a rotation that will give aspiring entrepreneurs around the country greater opportunities to compete for more than $100,000 in cash prizes each year.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Just a few weeks ago, Twitter had a multitude of potential suitors, with Google, Disney and Salesforce all said to be considering bids to acquire the mainstay social media platform.

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland has appointed Liz Sara as Chair of its Board of Advisors for the 2016-18 academic years. She becomes the first female chair in its 30-year history. She officially took the helm at the Oct. 5, 2016, board meeting.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST  —  What does the first presidential debate have in common with the famed “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman?