A Virtual Community of Changemakers is Born
How our team designed an engaging online meetup for our community
Author Archive for: Laurie
Entries by Laurie Moore
Design as a Response to Crises
by Sedinam WorlanyoOriginally posted on Medium Fight or flight. This theory first described by Walter Bradford Cannon sheds light on a physiological reaction that occurs “in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival.” Your body chooses to flee in a crisis or to stay and fight. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, […]
Global Partnerships
The UIF Regional Meetup at Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology (VVIT), held January 30-February 2, 2020, brought together Fellows from around the country for three days of design challenges, activities and speakers. By the VVIT UIF team What do you get when you bring together 60 Fellows from across India for three days of design […]
Making the World a Better Place Together
“We believe students can change the world” – The story of how they actually did at the Alps Meetup at FH Salzburg. By Cosima Decho & Julia Brunhuber, University Innovation Fellows, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences “Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for […]
Applications Open for Fall 2020 UIF Training
Applications are live for the University Innovation Fellows program Fall 2020 training cycle! The deadline is April 13, 2020.
Case Study: The Journey of the UIF Program at Madanapalle Institute of Technology and Science
Fellow Shivanika Shah interviewed Fellows and faculty at Madanapalle Institute of Technology and Science to better understand the impact of the University Innovation Fellows program at their school. By Shivanika Shah, Fellow, JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida The journey of the University Innovation Fellows in Andhra Pradesh, India was ignited by 6 inspiring students […]
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 […]
Empowering Newcomers
A few Fellows have started to reach beyond the walls of the university to involve external partners and create resources in the surrounding community. This story is an excerpt from Designing for Change. Yaser Alkayale’s family moved to Canada from Syria in 2006 in search of better educational opportunities. In 2014, Yaser enrolled in Dalhousie University […]
Together We Can Make a Movement
By Titus Venverloo, Fellow, University of Twente From August 11 to 20, 2019, the University of Twente Innovation Fellows hosted their regional meetup in the Netherlands. With 31 students from over 15 countries joining the program, the stage was set for an amazing nine days full of design thinking, leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship, as well […]
Redesigning Engineering
Fellows collaborate with faculty and administrators to redesign and create courses at their schools. This story is an excerpt from Designing for Change. Kathryn Christopher found herself in a unique position at Grand Valley State University. She had completed a bachelor’s degree in product design and manufacturing engineering and was one year into her master’s degree […]
Opening Minds
Quite a few Fellows have found or created positions to do their innovation work in their university. This story is an excerpt from Designing for Change. When La Salle Fellow Onesimus Morrison was a sophomore, he attended a seminar on innovation and entrepreneurship taught by Professor Steve Melick, director of the La Salle Center for Entrepreneurship. […]
Connecting Students and Companies
Fellows often use start-ups as a way to involve other students in innovation and entrepreneurship. This story is an excerpt from Designing for Change. When Fellow David Shull arrived at Michigan Tech in 2010 as a computer software engineering major, he dreamed of working for Apple. However, he discovered that his school’s connection to Apple was […]
In SINC with Students
A number of Fellows start student clubs and organizations as a vehicle to transform learning at their schools. This story is an excerpt from Designing for Change. In 2016, Vanessa Ganaden, a business major from Cal State Fullerton, discovered an interesting club at her school that connected engineering and business students. At the time, she […]
You Don’t Need to Wait to Make a Difference
University Innovation Fellows organized LOOP, the first-ever Latin American Innovation Week and the UIF Latin American Meetup in 2018. by Leticia Britos Cavagnaro There is learning about the world, and then there is immersing yourself in the world, and learning as you figure out how you can make an impact. Often times we think that […]
Fellows Take on SXSW 2019
15 Fellows joined UIF co-directors Humera Fasihuddin and Leticia Britos Cavagnaro for SXSW in Austin, TX, in March 2019. They spent several days together learning from speakers, engaging participants, and connecting with one another. Below are a few of their reflections on the experience. A Scoot Through SXSW By Jessica Aldrich, Wichita State University After […]
Igniting Changemakers at Ashoka U Exchange 2019
Transforming higher education into a tool for social innovation was the theme of the Ashoka U Exchange conference. Five Fellows and UIF program co-directors Leticia Britos Cavagnaro and Humera Fasihuddin, held activities and attended sessions at the February 2019 event in San Diego, CA. Below are the Fellows’ reflections on the experience: All of us […]
Forging Connections Across Cultures
75 members of the UIF community + an expanding innovation destination + beautiful sand and sun for miles = Eastern Hemisphere Meetup in the United Arab Emirates. Check out the materials and other resources from the event. Picture it: a place where you can go sand dune surfing, design a new innovation strategy for your […]
Meetup Reflections: Creating Change Together
350 University Innovation Fellows and faculty traveled to the Bay Area for the 2019 Silicon Valley Meetup.
Publication: An Innovators’ Movement
A new book by MIT Press, Does America Need More Innovators?, features a chapter by UIF program co-directors UIF program co-directors Humera Fasihuddin and Leticia Britos Cavagnaro have written a chapter in a newly published book by MIT Press. The book, Does America Need More Innovators?, is an exploration of today’s global imperative to innovate, […]
Just Published: Book About UIF
Our team is thrilled to announce that a book about the UIF program has been published! The book, Designing for Change: Using social learning to understand organizational transformation, was written by renowned social scientists Beverly and Etienne Wenger-Trayner. The book is a case study of the UIF program and brings to life decades of the […]
Applications Open for Fall 2019 UIF Training
Applications are live for the University Innovation Fellows program Fall 2019 training cycle! The deadline is March 31, 2019.
How to Turn an Idea into a Reality
Bucknell Fellow William Wall created a brand new design thinking pre-orientation program in just 10 months. by William Wall, University Innovation Fellow, Bucknell University In November 2017, Bucknell’s newest UIF cohort took on the Silicon Valley Meetup. With so many amazing minds and inspirational speeches, I left charged with excitement to make big changes on […]
Colorful Creations at Michigan Tech
Fellows from around the U.S. took part in Michigan Tech’s Regional Meetup in October 2018. The Michigan Tech “Colorful Creations” Regional Meetup set out to combine the dramatic landscape of fall foliage with two days immersed in the community innovation culture. The Tech Fellows and faculty hosted 20 participants from seven schools for the Meetup, […]
Twente’s European Regional Meetup
By Ghanashyam S University of Twente, one of the first institution from Europe to become part of the uifamily, hosted the first ever European Regional Meetup from August 16-20, 2018. 28 people attended, including Fellows and faculty champions from the U.S. and India as well as UIF team members. Twente is hosting their second European […]
358 students named University Innovation Fellows for Fall 2018
358 students from 96 higher education institutions in 16 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 […]
Indian Fellows in the Global Spotlight
Fellows from India have conducted design thinking workshops at several large global conferences. JSSATE Fellow Shivanika Shah shares reflections from several of those events. By Shivanika Shah, Fellow, JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida The UIF program welcomed its first Fellows from India in Fall 2016, thanks to an international initiative supported by Google. Since […]
Design Constraint Yields New Global Event
By Katie Dzugan When we hold the Silicon Valley Meetup in California every year, we invite a huge number of people: 250+ Fellows, 24 FABs (UIF leaders/support), 20-30 faculty champions, speakers, special guests and more. Due to space constraints at the d.school and at Google, we’re limited to 300 people. Fitting all of these people […]
A Year in the Life of a University Innovation Fellow
University Innovation Fellow Jessica Carlson walks us through a year in the life of a Fellow from application to impact. by Jessica Carlson In late October 2016, I was nominated to the first University Innovation Fellows (UIF) Leadership Circle at Menlo College with three other students: Yasmin Gomez, Maxwell Barnes and Russell Perkins. From interviews […]
A Family of Changemakers
The March 2018 Silicon Valley Meetup brought together 280 University Innovation Fellows and faculty for four days of learning and bonding over the shared mission of change in higher education. Intense, shared experiences have a way of connecting people to one another in a special and long-lasting way. The University Innovation Fellows Silicon Valley […]
