Archive for category: Announcement

Congratulations to the 242 students from 66 higher education institutions in 16 countries who have been named University Innovation Fellows this year! 

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 more than 2,800 students since its creation. 

“Higher education needs student leaders engaged from the get-go,” said Humera Fasihuddin, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “This group of 177 Fellows join the 65 Fellows who were launched last month as part of an early training pilot that began over the summer.”

“The new Fellows are designing experiences that help all students learn skills and mindsets necessary to navigate these uncertain times and to shape the future they want to see,” said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “They are giving back to their school communities, and at the same time, they’re learning strategies that will help them serve as leaders in their careers after graduation.”

The new Fellows join the program from the following schools:

• Aditya College of Engineering
• Aditya College of Engineering and Technology
• Aditya Engineering College
• Bogazici University
• Bowie State University
• Catholic University of Uruguay
• Central Michigan University
• Edward Waters University
• Elizabeth City State University
• Elon University
• Erasmus University Rotterdam
• FH Salzburg (Salzburg University of Applied Sciences)
• Fisk University
• Fordham University
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Grand Valley State University
• Hamburg University of Technology
• Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
• Iona College
• Istanbul Technical University
• Jackson State University
• James Madison University
• Johnson C. Smith University
• Khalifa University of Science and Technology
• Kingston University Business School
• Koç University
• Lingnan University
• Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
• Macquarie University
• Madanapalle Institute of Technology & Science
• Marshall University
• Menlo College
• Michigan Technological University
• Middle East Technical University
• Milwaukee School of Engineering
• Morgan State University
• National Institute of Development Administration
• North Dakota State University
• Oakwood University
• Ohio University
• Oregon Institute of Technology
• Prasad V. Potluri Siddhartha Institute of Technology
• Shaw University
• Sophia University
• South Plains College
• Southern Illinois University Carbondale
• St. Augustine’s University
• Swarthmore College
• Tennessee State University
• Tohoku University
• Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Salto-Punta del Este
• Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología
• Universidad de los Andes, Chile
• Universidad de Montevideo
• Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
• University of Cincinnati
• University of North Florida
• University of Puerto Rico at Bayamon
• University of Twente
• Utah Valley University
• UTEC
• V R Siddhartha Engineering College
• Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology
• Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering
• Virginia State University
• Virginia Tech

Fellows are nominated 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. 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. After training, Fellows implement the projects they crafted. They continue to serve as change agents and leaders at their schools and beyond.

Faculty and administrators who guide Fellows, known as Faculty Champions, also have the ability to engage in a community of Faculty Innovation Fellows. This cohort-based program is a two-year experience that helps educators work to identify and design their own projects to make a difference at their schools. Led by a team of veteran Faculty Champions, candidates are part of a community of practice, collaborating with other faculty and staff from around the world to learn new change strategies. 

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
Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school)
(650) 561-6113
laurie@dschool.stanford.edu

Congratulations to the 277 students from 73 higher education institutions in 15 countries who have been named University Innovation Fellows this year! 

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 more than 2,600 students since its creation. 

“Higher education needs student change agents now more than ever,” said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “The pandemic has forced our school’s leaders and faculty to change the way they educate students. This is our second cohort of Fellows impacted by the pandemic, and they’ve truly embraced this opportunity to help their schools adapt to today’s challenges.”

“The new Fellows are designing experiences that help all students learn skills and mindsets necessary to navigate these uncertain times and to shape the future they want to see,” said Humera Fasihuddin, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “They are giving back to their school communities, and at the same time, they’re learning strategies that will help them serve as leaders in their careers after graduation.”

The new Fellows join the program from the following schools:

• American University of Beirut
• Bina Nusantara University
• Bowie State University
• California State University, Fullerton
• Catholic University of Uruguay
• Central Michigan University
• Cleveland State University
• Colorado School of Mines
• Dian Nuswantoro University
• Elizabeth City State University
• Elon University
• Erasmus University Rotterdam
• FH Salzburg (Salzburg University of Applied Sciences)
• Foothill College
• Fordham University
• George Fox University
• Hamburg University of Technology
• Hollins University
• Institut Pertanian Bogor
• Institut Teknologi Bandung
• Institut Teknologi Harapan Bangsa
• Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember
• Iona College
• James Madison University
• Johnson C. Smith University
• Khalifa University of Science and Technology
• Koç University
• Lingnan University
• Louisiana Tech University
• Loyola University Maryland
• Madanapalle Institute of Technology & Science
• Menlo College
• Michigan Technological University
• Morgan State University
• National Institute of Development Administration
• North Carolina Central University
• Oakwood University
• Padjadjaran University
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Rowan University
• Rutgers the State University of New Jersey
• Santa Clara University
• Santa Monica College
• Sophia University
• Southern Illinois University Carbondale
• Spelman College
• Swarthmore College
• Telkom University
• Tennessee State University
• TOBB University of Economics and Technology
• Tohoku University
• Tuskegee University
• Udayana University
• Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología
• Universidad de los Andes, Chile
• Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
• Universidad Tecnológica del Uruguay
• Universitas Brawijaya
• Universitas Gadjah Mada
• Universitas Gunadarma
• Universitas Indonesia
• Universitas Terbuka
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Nebraska at Omaha
• University of North Florida
• University of Richmond
• University of Southern California
• University of Twente
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Utah Valley University
• Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology
• Virginia State University
• VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology

Fellows are nominated 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. 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. After training, Fellows implement the projects they crafted. They continue to serve as change agents and leaders at their schools and beyond.

Faculty and administrators who guide Fellows, known as Faculty Champions, also have the ability to engage in a community of Faculty Innovation Fellows. This cohort-based program is a two-year experience that helps educators work to identify and design their own projects to make a difference at their schools. Led by a team of veteran Faculty Champions, candidates are part of a community of practice, collaborating with other faculty and staff from around the world to learn new change strategies. 

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
Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school)
(650) 561-6113
laurie@dschool.stanford.edu

198 students from 45 higher education institutions in 14 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 2,400 students since its creation. 

“Higher education needs student change agents now more than ever,” said Humera Fasihuddin, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “The global pandemic has forced higher education leaders and faculty to change the way they educate and connect with students. Students have a unique opportunity to help their schools adapt to the challenges presented by this unprecedented time, and schools have an opportunity to engage students as co-designers of today’s educational experience.”

“We’ve trained these new Fellows to identify opportunities for change at their schools and to design experiences that help all students learn skills and mindsets necessary to shape the future,” said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “These Fellows are giving back to their school communities, and at the same time they’re also learning strategies that will help them serve as leaders in their careers after graduation.”

The new Fellows join the program from the following schools:

• Bogazici University  
• Bucknell University  
• Clemson University  
• Colorado School of Mines  
• Elon University  
• Fordham University  
• Georgia Institute of Technology  
• Grand Valley State University  
• Hamburg University of Technology  
• Illinois Institute of Technology  
• Iona College  
• Istanbul Technical University  
• James Madison University
• Khalifa University of Science and Technology  
• Koç University  
• Lingnan University  
• Louisiana Tech University  
• Loyola University Maryland  
• Madanapalle Institute of Technology & Science  
• Menlo College  
• Michigan Technological University  
• Milwaukee School of Engineering  
• National Institute of Development Administration  
• Ohio University  
• Prairie View A&M University  
• Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
• Sophia University  
• Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering  
• Swarthmore College  
• The Ohio State University  
• Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología  
• Universidad de los Andes, Chile  
• Universidad del Desarrollo  
• Universidad Tecnológica del Uruguay
• University of Nebraska at Omaha  
• University of North Florida  
• University of Richmond  
• University of St. Thomas  
• University of Technology Sydney
• University of Tulsa  
• University of Twente  
• Utah Valley University  
• Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering  
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Wichita State 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. 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. After training, Fellows implement the projects they crafted. They continue to serve as change agents and leaders at their schools and beyond.

This year, the University Innovation Fellows program team launched the inaugural Faculty Innovation Fellows cohort. This two-year program is for Faculty Champions — the faculty and staff mentors of University Innovation Fellows. This program helps educators work to identify and design their own projects to make a difference at their schools. Led by a team of experienced Faculty Champions, candidates are part of a community of practice, collaborating with other faculty and staff from around the world to learn new change strategies. Those who complete the program in Fall 2022 will be launched as Faculty Innovation Fellows.

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

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

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 authors’ research in social learning theory.

As we learned, books take a long time from inspiration to publication. We began this project in 2015, while we were still operating under the NSF-funded National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter). We engaged Beverly and Etienne to write a white paper that would apply their social learning theories to our program in order for us to better understand its impact on the individuals in our community as well as their schools and organizations.

During the process of their interviews with our Fellows, faculty champions, team and community members, Beverly and Etienne became convinced that a simple white paper wouldn’t do the story justice. In the book’s introduction, they write, “As we proceeded to look at existing data and interview people, the stories we were hearing and the picture that was emerging were so rich and inspiring that the format of a short white paper seemed too constraining. Our readers would miss too much. The potential audience was broader. We all agreed that it was going to be a short book.”

Today, this book is a rich portrayal of our program — with its strengths as well as areas for improvement — seen through the lens of the authors’ social learning framework of value creation. Their rigorous analysis weaves in quantitative data obtained by our NSF-mandated external evaluator, and is augmented with stories from Fellows, and photos of all the remarkable people that make up the UIF family. We are excited to see these insights shared in such a compelling way, and we hope they will inspire other programs to incorporate social learning strategies in their change work.

The book is available on Amazon: http://bit.ly/uif-book.

Happy Reading!

The UIF team

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 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 more than 1,800 students since its creation.

“Higher education needs to change faster to meet the needs of students and industry today,” said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “As the key stakeholders of higher education, students should be active participants of 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. They are highly motivated to make progress quickly, as they’re only on campus for a short time, and they care deeply about their schools and the experience of all students.”

“Through this program, Fellows gain skills, mindsets and knowledge to face complex challenges at their schools and in the world,” said Humera Fasihuddin, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “During training, Fellows analyze their campus ecosystems and identify learning opportunities 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. Armed with this knowledge and perspective, they design strategies to take advantage of these opportunities for change.”

The new Fellows join the program from the following schools:

• Abu Dhabi University
• Aditya Institute of Technology & Management
• Ajman University
• Annamacharya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Rajampet
• Arizona State University
• Audisankara College of Engineering and Technology
• Boise State University
• Brigham Young University
• Bucknell University
• California State University of Fullerton
• City College of New York
• Clemson University
• Colorado School of Mines
• Colorado State University
• Columbia University
• Elon University
• FH Salzburg
• Fordham University
• George Fox University
• Godavari Institute of Engineering & Technology
• Grand Valley State University
• Hamburg University of Technology
• IE University
• Indiana University Purdue University – Indianapolis
• Iona College
• James Madison University
• Johnson C. Smith University
• K L University
• Kakinada Institute of Engineering & Technology
• Khalifa University of Science and Technology
• KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belagavi
• Lancaster University
• Lingnan University
• Louisiana Tech University
• Loyola University Maryland
• Madanapalle Institute of Technology and Science
• Michigan State University
• Michigan Technological University
• Milwaukee School of Engineering
• Morgan State University
• Narasaraopeta Engineering College
• Ohio Northern University
• Ohio University
• Peking University
• Prairie View A&M University
• QIS College of Engineering and Technology
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Sagi Rama Krishnam Raju Engineering College
• Saint Joseph University of Beirut
• Santa Clara University
• Smith College
• Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
• South Plains College
• Southern Illinois University
• Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam
• Sri Vasavi Engineering College
• Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering
• Srinivasa Ramanujan Institute of Technology
• Susquehanna University
• Swarthmore College
• The Ohio State University
• Union College
• United States Air Force Academy
• Universidad Católica del Uruguay
• Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología
• Universidad de los Andes
• Universidad de Montevideo
• Universidad Tecnológica del Uruguay
• University College of Engineering JNTUK Narasaraopet
• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• University of California, Davis
• University of Dayton
• University of Delaware
• University of Economics – Varna
• University of Nebraska Omaha
• University of New Haven
• University of North Alabama
• University of Oregon
• University of Portland
• University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez
• University of Saint Thomas
• University of Technology Sydney
• University of Tulsa
• University of Twente
• University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
• V R Siddhartha Engineering College
• Varna Free University
• Vasireddy Venkatadri Institute of Technology
• Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering
• Vignan’s Institute of Information Technology
• Virginia Tech
• Western New England University
• Wichita State University
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Youngstown State University
• 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, schools fund the students to go through six weeks of online training and travel to one of two in-person Meetups to continue their projects and skill building. Throughout the year, Fellows have many opportunities to learn from one another, Stanford mentors, and leaders in academia and industry. Fellows also present their work and facilitate workshops at events and conferences around the world.

In Spring 2019, Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in one of the program’s two signature events: the Silicon Valley Meetup in California or the Eastern Hemisphere Meetup, which will be held in Dubai. During these gatherings, Fellows take part in immersive experiences at local universities and organizations, and work with leaders in education and industry. They 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.

This cohort of Fellows includes students from 20 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 at universityinnovationfellows.org/india.

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

The UIF team is excited to share some important changes to our program that we believe will result in even greater impact on your campus.

University Innovation Fellows and their faculty champions know just how often we emphasize prototyping, gaining feedback, and continually improving. Just as we ask Fellows to do this as they create activities, classes, spaces and communities at their schools, we do the same with our program.

We are thrilled to introduce a new iteration of our program cycle! After talking with so many of you, we designed a new process that streamlines and strengthens every Fellow’s potential to make impact.

Starting this year, we will offer only one application and online training cycle each year, after which Fellows will have to demonstrate action and learning in order to receive an invitation to the University Innovation Fellows Meetup. Below are the details.

One application and training cycle each year

Beginning with the next cohort of Fellows, we will hold only one application and training cycle each year. This year, applications will be due on May 21, 2018; interviews will take place in June; and training will be held September 4 – October 18, 2018. By holding only one application and training cycle each year (rather than two), our team will be able to focus on support for Fellows immediately after training and beyond.

One Silicon Valley Meetup and one Eastern Hemisphere Meetup each year

We will continue to hold our Silicon Valley Meetup once per year, in mid-March. For those of you who attended our November 2017 Meetup, you’ll remember that this was a special event to celebrate our program’s 5-year anniversary. Therefore we will not hold a Silicon Valley Meetup in November 2018.

Additionally, we will replicate the Silicon Valley Meetup experience in the Eastern Hemisphere. As a prototype, in May 2018, we are holding a Meetup in India for our growing population of Fellows in the Eastern Hemisphere. Stay tuned for details!

Impact requirement to attend the Meetup

In order to attend the University Innovation Fellows Meetup, Fellows will be required to demonstrate action and learning, or measurable progress with their projects. For the Fall 2018 cohort of Fellows, we will ask them to share an update on this progress about two months after they complete training — by December 14, 2018. Fellows who are able to demonstrate measurable traction on their projects will receive an invitation to attend the University Innovation Fellows Meetup by January 15, 2019. Those who achieve traction after this date will be invited to the Meetup in 2020.

What do we mean by impact? Change is hard, and it takes a lot of tenacity, grit, work and time. There are different levels of measurable impact: the numbers of attendees, events, and activities; the immediate effect on stakeholders who have a positive and enjoyable experience attending an activity Fellows organize; and the lasting impact in the mindsets and skillsets of faculty and students who learn something new during those activities. Even deeper impact happens when those in charge of systems and programs rethink their assumptions and implement changes. Every school and UIF project is different, and therefore requires different ways to understand and measure impact. For more information on this, please read this report by our colleagues Bev and Etienne Wenger-Trayner.

The ultimate goal of showing impact before attending the Meetup is for Fellows to take quick action and learn from the successes, failures, and everything in between. It takes small steps to make a difference, and we’re here to help you understand those steps.

This new process will ensure a strong return on investment for Fellows, faculty, stakeholders and for the UIF team. The UIF team will be able to focus more energy into providing support throughout the year and increasing our interactions with Fellows. As a result, we will all experience a higher quality program and thrive in stronger impact together.

Looking ahead

We are excited to design this new support experience for Fellows! We will share more details in the future about the ways in which we will help Fellows experiment, test and meet their goals.

As we celebrated our program’s 5-year anniversary in Fall 2017, our team had an opportunity to look back and review how much our program has changed since the beginning. We’ve continued to take in your feedback, to address your needs, and to take on new opportunities. There is always more work to do, and we look forward to continuing the journey with you as we work together to change higher education.

Here’s to the next 5 years!

The UIF team

(Leticia, Humera, Katie, Laurie and Ghanashyam)

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.