Priorities:Elon University Student Priorities

Leadership Circle Student Priorities

Student Priority #1: Elon University Crowd Fund 

Purpose: 

By initiating a crowd funding platform on our campus we could greatly expand what innovation and entrepreneurship looks like. This platform would be similar to the Kickstarter app in the sense that students would show their ideas using some form of video. Viewers (community members, Elon faculty, Elon students, Elon professors, community business leaders, etc.) could then watch the video and decide whether or not the idea is one in which they would like to invest in. Not only does this platform appeal to the startup mindset of many students, but it is an extremely efficient way of connecting students who have great ideas to individuals with funds.

Strategies:

1. Meet with professors and students to see if this is something students would use. Student survey.
2. Research other Universities that have a crowdfunding platform already set up.
3. Create a platform or use existing platform.
4. Reach out to a few groups for first adopters.
5. Start first crowdfunding trial runs.
6. Help advertise and connect with all involved Elon parties to secure funding.
7. Evaluate what could be improved.
8. Present proof of concept to school and start to market in Alumni circles. 

Purpose: 

Fortunately, Elon has a lot of programs and organizations that encourages students to explore I&E; however, many of these have either died out within the past couple years, have a lack of leadership or have needed a good push in the right direction. As UIF members we seek to build these programs and organizations back up.

Strategies:

• Identify organizations at Elon that work on I&E.
• Evaluate their current state and future sustainability.
• Create a list of ways to increase their impact and sustainability on campus.
• Help them build stronger leadership teams by connecting them with different resources within the university.
• Connect these different organizations with one another to build their recognition on campus.
• Connect these organizations more closely with different resources at the school to improve their impact on campus and ability to sustain students.
• Connect these organizations with different resources outside of the school that might be helpful for them.
• Create a group of presidents and UIF leaders that meets once a semester to discuss the current state of I&E.

Purpose: 

Professors to express their innovative ideas and how they can come from different backgrounds & criterias. This event will hopefully ignite the fire in students to want to continue with an idea that they’ve had for years.

Strategies: 

• Contact person in charge of events to plan logistics.
• Send out email to professors about event seeing who is interested. 
• Meet with interested professors to discuss talking points.
• Construct publicity & advertising tactics for event.
• Mass publicize event to student body.
• Host event while also publicizing Elon’s University Innovation Fellows to student body.
• Send thank you cards to speakers to hopefully gain a connection with them and gain support.
• Very ambitious but try and get 1,000 Pitches to come to one of the events.

Student Priority #4: Elon Incubator Space

Purpose: 

Students will need a space where they feel comfortable brainstorming and prototyping their ideas.

​Strategies:

• Develop a proposal based on incubator spaces at other universities to model our space off of and show their importance.
• Work with the university to secure a space/room at the school that would be available for this idea.
• Create an innovative layout for the room that will be conducive for innovation and venture creation.
• Propose a budget to the Provost for the cost of creating this space.
• Create and advertise the space.
• Find student volunteers to work in the space or create a paid student position.
• Build the resources needed for students to bring ideas to the space.
• Connect the space with other incubators in the area.

Student Priority #5: Update TV in Doherty Room/Innovation Network

Purpose: 

One way to encourage others to take their ideas and dreams to the next level is to show them that it has and is being done! This project would seek to shine a light on Elon’s current and past entrepreneurs.

​Strategies:

• Contact individual currently in charge of TV.
• Research students involved with I&E on campus.
• Email these students asking for a “profile”.
• Encourage Tour Guides to show prospective students what our current and past students are working on within the area of I&E.
• Build some type of social media platform to highlight innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Use the platform to highlight students and events.

Related Links

Elon University

Elon University Landscape Canvas

University Innovation Fellows:

Ben Driscoll

Jensen Roll

Matt Snow

Giles Roll

Elizabeth Jordan

Gabrielle Vance 

Sean Webber

Kyle McKinley

William Kakavas