We woke up on a sunny, yet windy day at the Kent State University Hotel. The downtown area of Kent, Ohio, is fairly new, having been recently developed (in roughly the last 5 years or so). The streets are wide, the buildings are low and a nice sandstone color with red accents from awnings to […]
*A play on Virginia’s state motto, “Virginia is for Lovers.” We kicked off our roadtrip strong, driving 5 hours through 5 states – MA, CT, NY, NJ, and PA – before stopping in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to get some Zzzs. Our biggest priority was to get to James Madison University to join their first-ever, student-led 24-hour hackathon, Bluestone Hacks. Participants of the […]
#BigBeacon Twitter Chat – April 22, 2015 Join the conversation at 8 p.m. EST. Tweeting as @epicenterusa, using the #BigBeacon. Preparing college graduates for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is a national education priority in the United States. According to a report published by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and […]
Students take the lead in the evolution of higher education at the University Innovation Fellows 2015 Annual Meetup. Originally posted via Epicenter. by Laurie Moore At 8:00 pm on Saturday, February 21, the second day of the University Innovation Fellows 2015 Annual Meetup was drawing to a close. Nearly 160 Fellows from across the U.S. […]
For Immediate Release February 24, 2015 Media contact: Laurie Moore Communications Manager, Epicenter (650) 561-6113 llhmoore@stanford.edu 123 U.S. Students Named University Innovation Fellows by NSF-Funded Epicenter (February 24, 2015) — 123 students from 51 U.S. higher education institutions have been named University Innovation Fellows by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter). The […]
This article was written by Amin Mojtahedi, a University Innovation Fellow Candidate at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. Amin is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Architecture and was visiting the Georgia Tech campus for one week at the end of January. See his full bio here. As part of […]
by Jaime Arribas Starkey-El University Innovation Fellow, Morgan State University On December 7, the Sunday before the start of finals week, Morgan State University students gathered for the first ever Be Your Own Boss (BYOB) Summit. The four-hour event was planned and facilitated by the Morgan Entrepreneurship Society Executive Board and their faculty advisor. In […]
The following post is a reflection of two faculty sponsors: Landon Young of William Jewell College (Missouri) and John Santa Lucia of Wayne State University (Michigan). Both faculty sponsors had the pleasure of joining Fellows at two separate meetups; the first was the Southeastern Regional Meetup in Greenville, South Carolina, from October 3 – 4, […]
Originally published by Epicenter PRESS RELEASE: NATIONAL STUDENT ORGANIZATION HOSTS EVENT ON INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN HIGHER EDUCATION The University Innovation Fellows Mid-Atlantic Regional Meetup will take place November 1 – 2, 2014, at the University of Maryland and in downtown Washington, DC. October 28, 2014 The University Innovation Fellows, a national student organization, will […]
The Massachusetts STEM Summit, held October 22, 2014, had roughly 1,300 attendees at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Attendees traveled from across the state to discuss engaging k-12 students in science, technology, math, engineering and independent research. The University Innovation Fellows were invited to present in the afternoon. The following excerpt appeared in the […]
Do you feel that there is a gap in the student learning experience as compared to the skills graduates need to compete in today’s economy? Do you feel that your campus would benefit from student-driven demand regarding experiential learning opportunities around innovation and entrepreneurship? If you answered yes to both of these questions — you […]
Imagine 11 students at the University of Georgia (UGA) creating solutions that redesign the home — from refrigerators to floors to lighting. Fast forward 5 months, and there are now 37 students redesigning the student experience at UGA through a similar Thinc-a-thon. Gregory Wilson, a Fellow and Ph.D. candidate at UGA, developed the original idea for […]
Dear Fellows, We can hardly believe that school is back in session – and we’re almost half way through training! We hope all of you enjoyed your summer endeavors and are settling back into campus life and managing your course loads this fall. As we catch up with you individually, we’d like to recap what […]
Who is Simon Sinek? He is a thought leader on leadership and wrote the book “Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.” Below, Thu-Huong Ha has posted a list of five books and two documentaries that made a difference in Sinek’s own path to leadership.
When you’re paired with a group of motivated and energetic individuals, anything is possible.” – Elliot Roth, University Innovation Fellow, Virginia Commonwealth University After training 66 University Innovation Fellows this past spring, 110 students from 78 different institutions across the nation have come together to build a more experiential learning system for undergraduate engineers and their […]
“You don’t have to be fearless just don’t let fear stop you.” – Charlie Day, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia When most people think about Charlie Day, they don’t picture him at the podium for a commencement speech or in Entrepeneur.com’s “most inspiring leaders” category. But this year, he was invited to be the keynote […]
We have several Fellows graduating from their institutions this semester! This is a monumental moment for them as they enter into their future endeavors. Graduation is a time of excitement, anxiety and nervousness, but not a time to be afraid. We have watched all of you dedicate yourselves to something bigger than your degree – this […]
Applications are now open for Epicenter’s University Innovation Fellows program. May 16, 2014 This week, the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter) opened the application process for its University Innovation Fellows program for U.S. college and university students. The University Innovation Fellows, a national community of students in engineering and related fields, are […]
From April 29 – May 1, ten University Innovation Fellows (UI Fellows) were invited to attend the Educating Engineers to Meet the Grand Challenges’ Conference held at the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to lend a student perspective in discussing how to better integrate innovation & entrepreneurship, interdisciplinary project-based work, service learning, global perspectives and […]
University Innovation Fellow, Nicholas Sinai, is recognized by his high school (Dublin High School) for his entrepreneurial pursuits at Cal Poly University San Luis Obispo during his freshman year. His past teachers and family provide an amazing insight into the type of person Nicholas is, and we couldn’t agree more. Keep up the great work […]
University Innovation Fellow Atin Mittra led a service learning trip to the Dominican Republic’s Barrio Blanco and learned a lesson about determination in the process. by Atin Mittra University Innovation Fellow, University of Maryland College Park As I embarked to lead an Alternative Spring Break trip to the Dominican Republic, I had no idea the next […]
On March 20-22, 88 students from across the U.S. descended on Silicon Valley in California for our University Innovation Fellows (UIF) Meetup 2014. Over the course of three days, we convened at Google, Stanford University and OPEN 2014 to participate in an action-oriented, highly-engaging agenda (which was shared here a few days back). These 88 […]
Dear future UI Fellow Candidates and Faculty Sponsors, Today is the VERY LAST DAY to submit an application to be considered for candidacy in our Spring 2014 cohort. We will not be accepting late applications. Visit our blog for testimonials from current and active UI Fellows. For more information, visit the student page or the […]
The six-week UIF Training Program was fundamental in transforming us, the UIFs, into advocates for our schools, our students, and our I&E movements. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet with countless other motivated students from across the country and have stayed in close contact with many of them- comparing our campus obstacles, our plans for […]
If you participated in the Fall 2013 cohort, you may recall Humera repeating a common statement throughout session 5. For those of you that didn’t participate, this will still interest you. Here is that recurring statement: “By connecting to other campuses that have been successful, and borrowing from those ideas you hear from your UIF peers, it removes […]
“The UI Fellows program helped me immensely not only in my entrepreneurial endeavors, but in creating a lasting impact at my university. During the training I learned what it takes to be a leader, to tell a compelling story, and to work alongside a community in making a sustainable impact. Possibly the most important thing […]
Thoughts From UIFs
“The fulfilling thing about being a University Innovation Fellow is that the experience doesn’t end on the last day. Humera helped us create the inventory of resources and network that got us started. Now, I’ve built relationships at my university and in industry so I can give back to my peers and future students by […]
ANNOUNCEMENT: Big Beacon has invited Epicenter back for a Twitter Chat! The topic will be design thinking in engineering. If you would like to join in, use #BigBeacon during the designated time and you will be able to follow the live conversation. Join the conversation by answering questions and chatting with other participants. Wednesday, February […]
PLEASE NOTE: This article was posted during the Leadership Circle pilot in spring 2014, so the information contained may be outdated. For all current information, see the Info for Students and Info for Faculty pages. “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. […]
Thoughts From UIFs
“The UIF training was hands-down one of the most beneficial programs in which I have participated during my time in undergrad. Training isn’t a learning experience rather, an eye-opening one. UIF mentors taught us how to log, chart, evaluate, and predict events on our campuses and use them to create unique opportunities for ourselves and […]
