Priorities:Tennessee Technological University- Student Priorities

Tennessee Technological University Student Priorities

Student Priority #1: 

With the addition of the iCube and iMakerspace to Tennessee Technological University's campus, a key resource for innovation and entrepreneurship is available for all students to utilize. The iCube hosts a virtual reality lab, brainstorming area and classroom, and the iMakerspace is loaded with machines like 3-D printers and lab space. Currently the space is used by engineering students, with a small proportion of business students. To introduce students of all majors to entrepreneurship and innovation both on campus and within this new resource, specialized pop-ups should be held that interest various underrepresented majors in the iCube. For example, a pop-up class that showed wildlife and fishery majors how to 3-D print fish hooks would bring other majors into the space and increase their exposure to interdisciplinary work with engineering students. Specialized pop-up classes will be open to all students to increase the likelihood of involving more majors in the iCube and iMakerspace. 

In order to identify these unique topics of interest, various surveys will be sent out to students' emails to ask for ideas and ranking of those ideas. In order to ensure the success of this strategic priority, a strong partnership with the faculty of the iCube and iMakerspace must be formed with students. In the beginning stages, specialized pop-ups can be hosted by faculty members across campus, and eventually pop-ups will be student run. 

The materials for the pop-ups will be the bulk of required funding for this strategic priority. In order to fund these pop-ups, meetings with the stakeholders within each college will be held for material costs. A pop-up funding grant would be a wonderful future addition to this initiative.

Everyone has a need for innovation in their degrees, and these specialized pop-ups are a way to inroduce more students to invaulable resources on campus.