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.

<parsererror style="display: block; white-space: pre; border: 2px solid #c77; padding: 0 1em 0 1em; margin: 1em; background-color: #fdd; color: black">

Project 2: Innovative coffee machine

This container will be positioned in a public place when visiting a campus and next to it will be a white board with a subject written on it. This subject will be the theme of the conversation that will take place later in the day. Then the main speaker or as we like to call him the discussion leader will come and check the board so he can get to know what students already know about the topic or what misconceptions they have on the subject.After that the discussion leader will start presenting the topic to the students and try to lead them into a constructive conversation. All this will take place next to the coffee container. By this the Container will become a landmark a signature. The conversations topics will be about (photo session for LinkedIn profile pic, Financial Literacy, design thinking to how to build a chair). We will bring professional people and people that are involved in the practical work so they can give their experience to the student. This is far from the cold classroom courses this is a warm gathering where people can enjoy a nice cup of coffee and engage in interesting conversations. And all of this will be on campus break so students that don't normally commit at first will get a taste of our project.

Project 3: USJ Extreme week

Inspiration:

Our UIF team was inspired by the extreme documentary provided by the Stanford team. We would like to start a project like this on a smaller scale in Lebanon to help the community. This will help our university reach level 5 (Spin Out)

Plan:

We will build on the already existing activity at our university named "Operation septieme  jour" in English "operation on day 7". This was started to help the community. Students go and help some community in need. We will add the innovation and entrepreneurship mindset. We will create trainings for students to create viable products that might help the community in need and might be startup ideas.

Project 3: Bridging the gap between students and Investors

Problem

Ambitious students are plenty at USJ, and the opportunities and infrastructures for startup creation are there. The main problem we keep hearing from students "How can we make a proposal for investors and what is the full process of creating a startup". And we keep hearing from investors "We need people that have a plan, a vision and that inspire confidence"

Solution

A website will be created. This website will take the student through the whole process of startup creation. From ideating, prototyping to getting investment and beyond. This website will contain specific guidelines for students at USJ. What courses are helpful? What are the helpful people and professors to contact

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