Press Release: 224 Students Named University Innovation Fellows

224 students from 58 higher education institutions in 7 countries have been named University Innovation Fellows.

The University Innovation Fellows program empowers students to become agents of change at their schools. Fellows work to ensure that their peers gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to compete in the economy of the future and make a positive impact on the world.

To accomplish this, Fellows advocate for lasting institutional change and create opportunities for students to engage with innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and creativity at their schools. Fellows design innovation spaces, start entrepreneurship organizations, host experiential learning events and work with faculty to develop new courses.

The program is run by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). With the addition of the new Fellows, the program has trained 1,000 students at 185 schools since its creation.

Fellows are sponsored by faculty and administrators as individuals or teams of students, and selected through an application process twice annually. Following acceptance into the program, schools fund the students to go through six weeks of online training and travel to the annual University Innovation Fellows Silicon Valley Meetup. Throughout the year, they take part in events and conferences and have opportunities to learn from one another, Stanford mentors, and leaders in academia and industry.

“During their training, Fellows learn how to analyze their campus innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems and understand the needs of stakeholders with the goal of uncovering opportunities to enrich the educational opportunities for their peers,” said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “They utilize frameworks like Design Thinking and Lean Startup to bring their ideas to life and work with peers from different backgrounds and disciplines.”

“The core belief of our program is that students can be partners with faculty and administrators to help lead change in higher education,” said Humera Fasihuddin, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “When we empower students to be the co-designers of the education experience, they create a better educational environment for others as well as themselves. Fellows grow as change agents in the process, and their peers benefit from an increased number of resources that expose them to skillsets and mindsets essential to the 21st century economy.”

The new Fellows join the program from the following schools and countries:

• ABES Engineering College, India
• Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College, India
• Annamacharya Institute of Technology and Sciences Rajampet, India
• Arizona State University, USA
• Binghamton University, USA
• Boise State University, USA
• Clark Atlanta University, USA
• Colorado School of Mines, USA
• El Centro Latinoamericano de Economia Humana (CLAEH), Uruguay
• Elon University, USA
• Florida Institute of Technology, USA
• Galgotias College of Engineering and Technology, India
• Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
• Godavari Institute of Engineering & Technology, India
• Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), USA
• James Madison University, USA
• JNTUA, India
• JNTUK Kakinada, India
• Kettering University, USA
• La Salle University, USA
• Lawrence Technological University, USA
• Loyola University Maryland, USA
• Madanapalle Institute of Technology and Sciences, India
• Menlo College, USA
• Morgan State University, USA
• Ohio Northern University, USA
• Pepperdine University, USA
• R.V.R & J.C College of Engineering, India
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA
• Sagi Rama Krishnam Raju Engineering College, India
• Santa Clara University, USA
• Sri Padmavathi Mahila Viswavidhyalayam, India
• Sri Venkateswara University College of Engineering, India
• Union College, USA
• Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay
• University of British Columbia, Canada
• University of Dayton, USA
• University of Louisville, USA
• University of Miami, USA
• University of New Haven, USA
• University of Oregon, USA
• University of Pittsburgh, USA
• University of Portland, USA
• University of St. Thomas, USA
• University of Technology Sydney, Australia
• University of Twente, Netherlands
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
• V R Siddhartha Engineering College, India
• Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology, India
• Villanova University, USA
• Washington State University, USA
• Washington University in St. Louis, USA
• Western Michigan University, USA
• Western New England University, USA
• Wichita State University, USA
• William Jewell College, USA
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA
• Zhejiang University, China

This cohort of Fellows includes 55 students from 14 schools in India, who are partially funded by Google to take part in the University Innovation Fellows program. Read more about the program’s work in India here.

In March 2017, students will have the opportunity to participate in the Silicon Valley Meetup, which brings together all Fellows trained in Fall 2016 and Spring 2017. During this gathering, Fellows will take part in immersive experiences at Stanford’s d.school, Google, Microsoft and other Silicon Valley organizations. They will participate in experiential workshops and exercises focused on topics including movement building, innovation spaces, design of learning experiences, and new models for change in higher education.

Applications for the Fall 2017 cohort of University Innovation Fellows are due on March 24, 2017. Learn more and apply at universityinnovationfellows.org/apply.

About the University Innovation Fellows program: 

The University Innovation Fellows program empowers students to become agents of change at their schools. The Fellows are a global community of students leading a movement to ensure that all students gain the necessary attitudes, skills and knowledge required to compete in the economy of the future. These student leaders from schools around the country create new opportunities that help their peers develop an entrepreneurial mindset, build creative confidence, seize opportunities, define problems and address global challenges. Fellows are creating student innovation spaces, founding entrepreneurship organizations, hosting experiential events, and working with faculty and administrators to develop courses. They serve as advocates for lasting institutional change with academic leaders and represent their schools at national events. The University Innovation Fellows is a program of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). Learn more at universityinnovationfellows.org.

About Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school):

The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (known as the d.school) brings together students and faculty from radically different backgrounds to develop their creative confidence and their potential as innovators by tackling real-world challenges. Learn more at dschool.stanford.edu.

Media contact:
Laurie Moore
Communications Director
University Innovation Fellows Program
(650) 561-6113
laurie@universityinnovation.org

Update May 3, 2017: 10 additional students from the following 4 schools have been launched as Fellows: Marquette University, USA; University of California, Berkeley, USA; Universidad Tecnológica del Uruguay; and University of New Hampshire, USA.