Priorities:North Dakota State University Student Priorities

Overview

Here at North Dakota State University, we are going to develop a community that lays the framework for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Although events, programs, and resources are needed for an entrepreneurial community to flourish, they are not the most important part of the process. The most important part is the community, and we feel the community has not been given enough attention. 

1. Build & Connect the Community

Tactic #1 Hammock Initiative

The best opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation mean nothing if people aren't involved. We feel that to create a community of entrepreneurs we have to first create a community where people can just be people. That is why one of our main priorities is to bring an organization to campus that will host events where all expectations to be innovative or have creative ideas are eliminated. It's called the Hammock Initiative, or Hi for short and its vision is simple.

We want to see people gathered together for the purpose of relaxing, enjoying each other’s company and, literally, hanging out. This vision may not sound audacious or ambitious, and that’s the point. It’s an opportunity for people to be, not do. - @HiFargo

By getting people together to hammock for the sake of just being, we believe natural conversation where ideas and innovation are born will start all on their own. And with how busy people are, I think we can all agree that some time set aside to relax is needed. 

2. Improve Existing Programs

Tactic #1 Revamp Innovation Challenge

The innovation challenge is great and opens up many oportunites to the student body. However, it is heavily based on a business plan and requires the proposal to fit in a specific track, that is Product, Service, or Corn. Because of this the development of the Clinton Global Initiative to work in tandem with the Innovation Challenge has been proposed. 

Tactic #2 Clinton Global Initiative

Furthering the Innovation Challenge by augmenting it with the Clinton Global Initiative is one of the methods to make it better. The CGI is more social based and will allow those who do not have a business plan to not only enter a innovation club but will give the chance of moving even farther on than just NDSU.

3. Knock Down Barriers

Tactic #1 Engineering wide Lab Access

Students need a work to develop their ideas. The college of Engineering has a number of labs with space, materials and equipment to further these ideas but they are not open to all NDSU students and even other Engineering students. The only way to get into many of the labs is to go in during business hours and be of that particular major. Allowing any Engineering student to access these labs would help provide a starter innovation space and show need for one in the future.

Tactic #1- Develop more connections between various engineering majors (Senior Design, ect) to encourage students not as far in the program to begin working in other labs from an earlier date

Description- Form bonds between all majors under the College of Engineering

Team Leaders

• Univ 189 Professors
• Academic Advisors
• Senior Design Adviors

Milestones

• Convince the Dean of Engineering and department heads that it is beneficial to get outside of their specific major
• Form more interdisciplinary senior designs
• Develop strong ties between majors

Tactic #2 Open up Computer Labs for all majors

Description- Allow key card access to all engineering computer labs by all engineering students

Team Leaders

• Lab Instructors
• IT Department
• UIF Students

Milestones

• Gain computer lab access

Tactic #3 Open up Technical Labs for all majors

Decription- Open technical labs like the IME, ME, EE, AG, and other labs so any Engineering major can enter them

Team Leaders

• Lab Instructors
• Department Heads
• UIF Students
• Students

Milestones

• Allow students to work in labs during business hours (8-5)
• Look into getting off hours lab space for weeknights and weekends for students to get into the current lab

Tactic #2 I&E Whitepages

There is a large number of organizations on and off campus that are beneficial to innovation and entrepreneaurship. NDSU overhauled its organization database recently but it is not all inclusive the and search button does not work like it should. The other issue is that it does not tie into the community. The Fargo/Moorhead area has a strong I&E culture but there is no easy way for students to search and see what is available. 

Goal- Create a wiki-based whitepage style repository of all innovative and entreprenearistic events on campus and in the community.

Method- Create a wiki page for the university organizations

Method- Compile a list of current on campus activities and allow students to add or edit activites as needed

4. Imagine the Future

Tactic #1 Critical Thinking Classes

Tactic #1:Hit the Ground Running- Student Driven Experience.

• Description: The sooner students realize that the faster they can get involved with the campus, potential employers, real world work and experience the more excited they will be about taking the bull by the horns to steer their desires in whichever way they want them to go. Many students dreaded the way their high school educations were conducted. In high school lots of people say, "When am I ever going to use this stuff?" Now is time! Unforetunately, many freshman students have no clue what they want to do with their lives, and others just need to follow the directions to the map they have made in their heads (minority of students). The catering to these "undecided" students is essential to change the mindset of what it is to experience college. (Not just going to parties) The basis of this tactic is to empower students to actively seek hands on skills in their choosen career path. This maybe in the form of jobs, volunteering, clubs, and other outgoing groups.
• Team Leaders: UNIV 189 professors? Dorm RAs? People responsible for scheduling motivational speakers (Specifically for college students)? I placed question marks behind each of these leaders because this is just what comes to mind of people who would be able to aid in this tactic. Possibly more.
• Milestones:
  • Support from potential team leaders
  • Actually getting students to go to speakers, be active in clubs, take internships, and learn what they want to learn outside of the traditional classroom.
  • Students pressure higher-ups of the university to cater to their educational wants.
  • University and individual colleges alter ciriculums
  • Entire college culture is changed from "Partying" to "Let's do something for ourselves along with the world"

Tactic #2: Classroom Driven Experience (Science Student Perspective)

• Description: Use critical thinking and problem solving educational tactics along with or after a  traditional lecture class and lab is complete. Labs are where these problem solving strategies can be applied more. An additional lab course should be available that adhears to more of using what they learned in that lab and lecture in a more investigative/problem solving way. This critical thinking experience would come after the student has complete the previous course.The class would be structured around what I would say as mini-research experiments. The students would use previous knowledge to help guide themselves into theories and hypothesies of what they believe could be the answer to whatever they are working on. Then they would carry out experiments to tests these ideas. -A very rough outline on how the class would be structured.
• Team Leaders: Jordan Brummond, I have heard rumors of similiar sounding classes that will be starting up soon in my department by - Janice Haggart. I also believe Dr. Angela Hodgson is in her second year of a similiar class.
• Milestones:
  • Curriculum Assesments
  • Find evidence that students who take this class are more succesful academically/professionally and provide it to the masses- Brings hype to the class
  • Integrate into regular ciriculum
  • Faculty support from multiple departments
  • Development of similiar courses in other departments

Tactic #3: Mentor DrivenExperience

• Description: Having outside entrepreneurs, businesses, or research professors "take in" students as mentees/apprentices/interns. A good comparison would be like a "Big Brother, Big Sister" for students with drive and passion to get right out into the real world while they work on their degrees.
• Team Leaders: TBD
• Milestones:
  • Small number of mentors ready to pave the way
  • Incorporate into already existing career fair
  • More mentors view it as a recruitment tool to attrack the best and brightest
  • "Career fair" specifically as the recruitment tool
  • Students rewarded for their work other than the experience
  • Succes stories as a recruitment tool for both students and new mentors

Tactic #2 Futhering I&E

Further strategies for future development of I&E on NDSU campus include

Aquire an Innovation Space

Providing students with a place 'with a sign on the door' designating it as purely a space for students to meet and hang out with innovative and entreprenurial interests in mind will encourage and nourish the formation of ideas and student innovation teams/entrepreneurs, in no particular order. As rules can have a tendency to stifle innovation, the objective is to keep this space as free and open as possible, accessible to all majors and during as much of the day as is feasible.

While a room with a whiteboard is enough to get us started, I'd like to expand upon that as much as possible. I'm considering this a seperate tactic as it involves going through different channels and asking for entirely different things from different people. The goal here is to network with as many higher-ups who support the movement as possible (many of whom have already been interviewed for the landscape canvas) and see what kind of extra equipment their department might be willing to lend. We're talking computers, arduinos, soldering irons, scrap metal, hot glue guns.... anything not 'required' to run the I-space but would still contribute to its usefulness. More importantly, anything not nailed down! People resources are going in this tactic as well. The I-space will require a semi-regular pool of mentors, be they faculty, community leaders, or just motivate volunteers. The purpose of this group will be to offer more everyday advice and counsel than bringing in a speaker or holding an event.

Provide Legal and Financial Assistant to I&E Teams

The author requests that you note the use of 'management' vs. 'protection.' Currently, there is little understanding amongst students that work they do that utilizes 'significant university resources' qualifies as university property. The native stance of the IP management system here is toprotect all IP generated, not tomanage and distribute it. We hope that, by working with the Tech Transfer Office and university higher-ups, a more transparent system can be developed... one that can be explained to students quickly and efficiently. Most importantly, the delivery system for getting the knowledge to students has to be structured in such a manner that it doesn't scare them off!  Barring the ability to get the TTO more involved in proactively assisting with student IP, we at least hope to provide students with a seminar, guide, etc... on what exactly the relationship between them, their work, and the university actually is.With this tactic, we're going to work closely with the NDSU research park and Tech Transfer Office to establish as best we can a formal step-by-step process for entreprenuers looking to start a business and/or license their own IP back from the university. Note that the point here is not toconstrain but to assist. The purpose of the formal system is to allow rails for the students to follow along their journey- right now there is nothing in place to assist students in the early or middle stages of planning, for example. Late stage business-founding can be handled by the Research Incubator... but how do you know to contact them? That's precisely what we're going to fix. At the very least, this tactic will produce a flow chart of steps, people, and processes that have been succesful in the past for starting businesses at NDSU.

Related Links

North Dakota State University

Andrew Dalman Jacob_Larson Jordan_Brummond Drew_Spooner