Priorities:Saint Joseph University of Beirut Student Priorities

Project 1: Inspiring design thinking

Students do not really seem to know much about I&E especially in their first two years at university. This is why we decided to work on promoting design thinking.

Strategy #1: Campus Information Book

The above diagram shows how this information book can be helpful to students on campus. Many graduates managed to become successful entrepreneurs or reached very important positions in big companies. Our information book will include these success stories to help students shape their entrepreneurial mindset and follow the example of the alumni who reached success. Another addition to this book is the contact information of these people; thus, students will have the opportunity to contact them to either learn from them or get helpful information.

The second part of this book will include the projects that are being worked on by final year students or the serious hobbyist. This way, potential students will get an idea of what to expect from our campus and current students will get an idea of what is going on around them.

Many students also join and win competitions. These students develop complete projects on a higher level. This will push other students to know about competitions in campus and will motivate them to join and develop their entrepreneurial mindset.

Strategy #2: Organizing Competions on Campus

Competitions let students learn project management and teamwork, two essential attributes for every entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs love competition; thus, developing the competiton spirit inside the campus is essential as students will work hard on accomplishing the best project they can possibly do in order to try and win. This process will develop the entrepeneurial mindset for students and will teach them to work hard, work smart and organize their projects

Strategy #3: UIF entrepreneurial programs

Our university plans to join the UIF program permanently. Finding potential UIF students is essential for the continuity of our university in this program to pursue the projects we started working on and developing. This way, these students will get the opportunity of learning from our experience with the program and will get an idea of what we are working on.

Organizing UIF events and conferences on campus is also essential in order to share our experience with the program and the design thinking skills we 

acquired after completing this program. This will motivate students to join entrepreneursip program to learn and grow.

Project 2: Drinkable Water

Our long term project consists of making the water drinkable inside our campus. Water is essential for the well-being of students during their long university days, but many students overlook it as drinkable water is either expensive on campus or not available.

Below are the steps we might take to accomplish this project.

Filtering Tap water

The inexpensive way is to install filters for taps to make the water drinkable.

Installing containers

 Putting containers in different locations inside the campus will help us store and distribute drinkable water to many areas of the campus.

Installing Taps in classrooms 

In order to bring the water closer to students and push them to drink more, taps have to be installed inside classrooms so students can refill their bottles without walking long distances to the cafeteria or to a container in order to drink.

Mobile Application

 Shows the location of drinkable water taps inside the campus. 

Project 3: Initiative- Bringing Students Together

Tactic 1

Development relationship with established business within the Tri-State area and develop company tours filled with students studying in that industry.

Tactic 2

Bring campus culture together along with local businesses in a day filled with showcasing students projects and business partnership with the student-led projects.

Tactic 3

In order to improve the culture and atmosphere among students and local business, we would partner with local food businesses and food trucks to line up at our campus to provide us authentic treats. This would enhance business near our campus and spice up the current and future events.

Project 4 : Peer teaching sessions

This idea is all about creating a beautiful platform for the students to enlighten and bring out the innovative thinking ability in them, and at the same time to effectively express their idea. We believe that peer Teaching is the best way to make this happen. We already have peer teaching classes going on in our daily classroom schedule. But the activities are not being executed in the way they are to be done. This might be due to the fact that students have an unnerving feel as they think they were forced to participate in the activities which might seem boring to them. So, changing the way these activities happen inside a classroom that students might be interested in, can help them grab opportunity to work in a team and learn something that would improve their knowledge.

How PT can be interesting:

1. Instead of facuty, students from senior classes may be designated to lead the classes
2. Maximum strength of each peer teaching session must be limited to 20.
3. At initial stages, group discussion with 4–5 students each group may be experiemented. This might help them to overcome their fear of public speaking at the initial stages.
4. To avoid monotony, different activites many planned from session to session.

Possible issues:

• As seniors are assigned as mentors to freshmen, they might not mingle in the team.
• Availability of senior students who can effectively lead the sessions might be a problem.
• Students might not want to participate in a team all of a sudden.

Hope of solving these issues

Faculty members mentor seniors, helping them solve the issues with the freshmen. Seniors to be awarded credits for their commitment to peer teaching sessions. Feedback from the members of a team lead by that senior, may fetch him/her credits. This puts senior students in their path as they help peers to participate in the activities.

I&E ecosystem via PT

Student Collaboration 

In these sessions, students meet their fellows more personally. They talk to each other, and we believe that this is the initial stage of innovative mindset, such ecosystem can be developed across the campus. This helps students to understand the resources on campus.

Grabbing every opportunity

Participating in a team activity develops thought process that helps a student to know what interests him/her. Thus, they come to know what all opportunities they have at the moment. With the help of their team lead or the assigned senior, they can connect to the right way to grab an opportunity.

Connecting to campus resources

By collaborating with seniors and thereby faculty, students will get to know resources that the college has to offer them. Knowing the availability of resources, students will think of using them for their own growth leading to innovation & entrepreneurship.

Youtube Video Link

Campus Information Website