Priorities:Tennessee Technological University- Student Priorities

STUDENT PRIORITY #1: ASHLIN WILDUN

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 an iMakerspace loaded with machines like 3-D printers and lab space. Currently the space is primarily used by engineering students, as well as 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 which represent the interests of various underrepresented majors in the iCube. For example, a pop-up class which showed wildlife and fisheries students how to 3-D print fish hooks would bring studenst of other majors into the space and increase exposure to interdisciplinary work with engineering students. Specialized pop-up classes will be open to all students, increasing 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 requesting ideas and ranking those ideas based on interest. In order to ensure the success of this strategic priority, a strong partnership between the faculty/staff of the iCube and iMakerspace and students must be formed. In the beginning stages, specialized pop-ups can be hosted by faculty members across campus, and eventually student-facilitated pop-ups introduced. 

The materials for the pop-ups will form the bulk of required funding for this strategic priority. Meetings with the stakeholders within each college will be held to identify funding sources 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 introduce more students to invaluable resources on campus.

STUDENT PRIORITY #2: JACQUELINE SCHULZ

INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION & LONG-TERM AVENUES FOR I&E PURSUIT

AVAILABLE RESOURCES

Research completed regarding the I&E ecosystem at Tennessee Technological University uncovered a large base of I&E capable student organizations (40+) with an overwhelming lack of courses either I&E based or worked to integrate I&E principles into the curriculum (~9 + Senior Capstone Projects). Courses containing these principles were clustered within the engineering and business disciplines, with few outliers in agriculture and nursing.

One such course, involving students of nursing and chemical engineering (open to biomolecular concentration as well as general chemical engineering students), is called Clinical Immersion at Interdisciplinary Interfaces and was piloted during the Fall 2015 Semester. This course taught students to apply field experience/observation and personal interviews to a process very similar to the design thinking process called the Legacy cycle. Then students used this creative process to generate innovative solutions to problems noted during clinical experiences in the hospital and/or identified by health care workers (mostly staff nurses). One solution presented at the end of the course included plans and theoretical proof of concept for a non-lead radiation-shielding sterile drape which would be reusable, sterilizable, light-weight and flexible.

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

Though this course was interdisciplinary and focused on a process similar to design thinking, there were a few improvements which would make the experience more effective:

1. Increase time period: The one semester course was too short for any of the four groups to fully develop a prototype or MVP (minimum viable product).
2. Increase interdisciplinary aspect: The course only included students from nursing and chemical engineering disciplines, leaving large knowledge deficits when developing business plans and/or other aspects of prototype development which could not be solely applied to chemical engineering and/or nursing.
3. Greater introduction to available resources: While the class was briefly introduced to resources available for prototyping on campus including the iMakerspace within the iCube, no in-depth instruction was provided on use of these resources due to time constraints. 

PROPOSED SOLUTION

In order to remedy the areas for improvement outlined above, a long-term 3 year program has been proposed for participation of students from every major offered through Tech (not all will be represented, but all will be eligible). This program will give students exposure to I&E concepts and interdisciplinary collaboration, and will also promote the use of the many resources available to students for their innovative and entrepreneurial ventures. Divided into yearly cohorts, students in the program will have the opportunity to form long-term relationships and teams for solution development to problems found in the surrounding area and/or on mission trips to more distant locations.

1. First year cohorts will focus on learning the design thinking process, business model canvas, and other vital resources which facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship from concept generation to production & sales. The program will integrate into the curriculum critical & creative thinking activites and exercises for students to apply the concepts these to the world around
2. Second year cohorts will be assigned projects for solution development and execution. This year will focus on design thinking solutions to the problem, developing prototypes/minimum viable products (MVPs) from data collected through research, and working to bring the solution to production using resources available on campus/in the regional I&E ecosystem.
3. Third year cohorts will self-identify problems and develop design solutions with the end goal of achieving student liscensure of the product, venture start-up status, and/or legal status or commercialization of the product be an outside entity. This project will serve as the capstone of the program, challenging students to work together effectively while pooling knowledge not only from the previous two years in the course, but also knowledge gained within each student's respective discipline.

Related Links:

Ashlin Wildun

Jacqueline Schulz

Enis Cirak

Jonathan Abbotoy

Abigail Collins

Tennessee Technological University

Tennessee Tech Website

The Biz Foundry

Tennessee Tech iCube

2016 Spring Landscape Canvas