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 […]

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, […]