360 students named University Innovation Fellows for 2019

360 students from 90 higher education institutions in 13 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 all students gain the attitudes, skills and knowledge required to navigate a complex world and build the future. 

These student leaders from schools around the globe create opportunities to help their peers build the creative confidence, agency, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to address global challenges. Fellows create student innovation spaces, start entrepreneurship organizations, facilitate experiential workshops, work with faculty and administrators to develop new courses, and much more. They serve as advocates for lasting institutional change with academic leaders, lending the much-needed student voice to the conversations about the future of higher education.

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 nearly 2,200 students since its creation. 

“Higher education needs to change faster to meet the needs of students and industry today,” said Humera Fasihuddin, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “In traditional education systems, students have to wait until they graduate to make a difference. We don’t believe that. As the key stakeholders of higher education, students should be active participants in a change process that helps them learn the skills and mindsets necessary to create the future. The students who participate in our program are ideally poised to help accelerate the pace of change at their schools.”

“Through this program, Fellows gain skills, mindsets and knowledge to face ever-more complex challenges at their schools and in the world,” said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “During training, Fellows learn to analyze their campus ecosystems and identify opportunities for change related to innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking, and creativity. They work to understand the needs of peers across disciplines and the perspectives of faculty and administrators. They apply this new knowledge and perspective to design new educational opportunities for their peers.”

The new Fellows join the program from the following schools:

• Aditya College of Engineering
• Aditya College of Engineering and Technology
• Aditya Engineering College
• Aditya Institute of Technology and Management, Tekkali
• Bogazici University
• Brigham Young University
• Bucknell University
• Catholic University of Uruguay
• Clemson University
• Colorado School of Mines
• Colorado State University
• Converse College
• Creighton University
• Elon University
• Fordham University
• George Fox University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Godavari Institute of Engineering & Technology (A)
• Grand Valley State University
• Hamburg University of Technology
• Hochschule Luzern
• IE University
• Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
• Iona College
• James Madison University
• Johnson C. Smith University
• K L University
• KKR & KSR Institute of Technology & Sciences
• KLS Gogte Institute of Technology
• Koç University
• Lingnan University
• Lipscomb University
• Louisiana Tech University
• Loyola University Maryland
• Madanapalle Institute of Technology & Science
• Marshall University
• Menlo College
• Michigan Technological University
• Milwaukee School of Engineering
• Morgan State University
• Munich Technical University
• National Institute of Development Administration
• North Carolina A&T State University
• Ohio Northern University
• Ohio University
• Peking University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Prairie View A&M University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rowan University
• Sagi Rama Krishnam Raju Engineering College
• Saint Joseph University of Beirut
• Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
• South Plains College
• Southern Illinois University Carbondale
• Sri Vasavi Engineering College
• Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
• Stanford University
• Susquehanna University
• Swarthmore College
• Tennessee Technological University
• The Ohio State University
• Union College
• Universidad de los Andes
• Universidad de Montevideo
• University of Canberra
• University of Georgia
• University of Nebraska at Omaha
• University of North Florida
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Richmond
• University of San Diego
• University of St. Thomas
• University of Technology Sydney
• University of Twente
• University of Utah
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Utah State University
• Utah Valley University
• Vanderbilt University
• Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology
• Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Western Michigan University
• Wichita State University
• William Jewell College
• Yale University
• York College of Pennsylvania
• Zhejiang University

Fellows are sponsored by faculty and administrators as individuals or teams of students, and selected through an application process each year. Following acceptance into the program, students participate in a 6-week online training experience that requires them to learn from and work with stakeholders on campus. After training, Fellows have many opportunities to learn from one another, Stanford and peer mentors, and leaders in academia and industry. Fellows also present their work and facilitate workshops at events and conferences around the world. 

In Spring 2020, Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in the program’s signature Silicon Valley Meetup in California. During this gathering, Fellows take part in immersive experiences at Stanford University and Google, and work with leaders in education and industry. They participate in experiential workshops and exercises focused on topics including movement building, spaces for innovation, design of learning experiences, and new models for change in higher education.

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.

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