Priorities:Texas Tech University Student Priorities Page

Strategy # 1: Resource Consolidation on Website

Leadership Circle Representative: Valente Rodriguez

Tactic #1: Organize each resource by category

• Description: Create a user-friendly interface for students/faculty/staff to easily access I&E related resources
  • Milestones:
    1. Meet with OVPR administration
    2. Meet with point of contact for each resource
    3. Develop draft for web layout
    4. Relay information to director of communication for web development

​Update: This project is no longer run by a UI Fellow at TTU, instead the OVPR has taken ownership of it and is currently working on a page. UIF is contributing by making the landscape canvas and working on display tools, like a Google Map.

Strategy # 2: OTC opportunities and collaboration between colleges

Leadership Circle Representative: Frank Atore

Tactic #1: Have interdisciplinary classes that are taught by at least two professors from different departments or colleges

• Description: Train and provide hands on learning on how to design around a problem from conceptual to finished product in a one semester course.  
• Milestones:
  • Reach out to current departments and colleges to facilitate cross talk and find volunteers: 2/14
  • Either create an institute for design in the research park or retro fit existing department: 3/15
  • Obtain funding for the program at $500 per student group and funding for travel to need areas (market) : 4/15
  • Promote program to undergraduate seniors and graduate students 7/15

Tactic #2: Internship opportunities in the Office of Technology Commercialization for students

• Description: Gain hands on learning on how to market technology and form a business around a technology
• Milestones
  • Reach out to the office of the VPR on openness to do program: 2/15
  • Find funding sources for the program and the IP backlog in the OTC: 3/15
  • Send out student survey for program: 4/15
  • Promote program to undergraduate and graduate students: 5/15

Tactic #3: Departmental “Champions” or points of contact for entrepreneurial design and studies

• Description: Be a point of reference for faculty to communicate their current research endeavors and a reference for the OTC to relay market or industry interests to faculty.
• Milestones:
  • Find experienced and enthusiastic innovators: 3/15
  • Create a database or knowledge base for faculty to vote on each others ideas or suggestions (before posting, they rank others ideas, but not theirs): 4/15
  • Discuss funding availability with the OVPR 5/15
  • Discuss with OTC about employing subject matter experts in the OTC to be counterparts to the departmental champions.9/15

Update: This project is discontinued, but we like the vision of it and will try to get around to it (or similar goals) in the future.

Strategy # 3: Transportation improvement

Leadership Circle Representative: Frank Atore

Tactic #1: Rental Bikes on Campus

• Description: Have bikes stationed on areas around parking lots and campus perimeter
• Milestones:
  • Liability and restrictions
  • Funding availability in current transportation budget
  • Establish payment system (use student ID)
  • Security cameras at bike stations

Strategy #4: Reduce Shortage of Software Developers for I&E

Leadership Circle Representative: Isaac Griswold-Steiner

Tactic #1: Implementing Web-CAT Autograder in CS Department

• Description: Have the Computer Science department use an auto-grader for labs and develop better programming assignments.
• Milestones:
  • December 2015:
    • Get the chair and associate chair of the department onboard with the project.
    • Secure funding for a server to run the system.
  • January 2016:
    • Get a working Web-CAT server up and running (and capable of grading Python, Java, or C++ assignments)
  • February 2016:
    • Find professors willing to test the autograder
    • Finish getting Python, Java, and C++ working on Web-CAT
  • March 2016:
    • Finish documenting how to setup and use Web-CAT (hopefully make some videos for that as well).
    • Create additional demo projects to show how to use Web-CAT
    • Trial run the system with students and TAs/Faculty and get feedback.
  • April 2016:
    • Secure a way for students to get elective credit if they develop good programming assignments for courses (or plugins for the system).
  • May-August 2016:
    • Test run the system with TAs, Students, and Professors. Take additional feedback and try to solve issues.
  • Fall 2016:
    • Run a course or courses using this system.
  • 2017 and after:
    • Expand the system to other departments at TTU.
    • Maintain and build a support structure for the system in the CS department.
    • Reach out to other schools and try to help them do the same.

Tactic #2: Programming Courses for Non-CS Majors

• Description: Have a course in the concepts of programming (run by students or the department) for non-CS majors.
• Milestones:
  • May-August 2016:
    • Use CS For All (from Harvey Mudd) to create a trial run of a course for Non-CS majors (2-6 motivated individuals).
    • Use the feedback to develop a larger course that can be run by students each semester.
  • Fall 2016 and Spring 2017:
    • Run a trial course for non-CS majors, larger this time (10-20 students).
    • Take feedback and improve
  • Stretch Goals for 2017+ (or, if I can find the support):
    • Build enough interest to get the CS department to have an official course based off of CS For All.
    • Use the CS For All course as a way to improve CS education within the department as a whole (more implementation in addition to the theory).

Tactic #3: Software Development Club Community Integration

• Description: Currently the Software Development Club is somewhat small and casual. The goal is to make it larger and more driven, integrating it more with the I&E community on campus (and hopefully the country).
• Milestones:
  • Summer 2016:
    • Build a framework for integrating new officers and motivating them to overachieve. Possibly build a points system for the entire club. Rewards would include getting money to go to conferences.
    • Take select individuals and ensure they have (and continue) projects through the summer to act as inspiration for the rest of the team.
    • Train officers to relate on a personal level with members.
  • Fall 2016:
    • Get the members more self-motivated and in smaller teams (3-5 per team).
    • Change the culture and encourage members to work on projects for at least 5 hours per week instead of the 2 we do now.
    • Change weekly meetings to be more team-building, planning, getting help, and less about sitting quietly and coding.
  • 2017 and after:
    • Work with other student organizations to find out what software they need. Teach design thinking to the CS majors during the process of doing these projects.
    • Get the Software Development Club traveling more, visiting conferences and hackathons.

Video Presentation:

Related Links:

Spring 2016 UIF Leadership Circle Candidates:

Alyx Horace

Alfonso Alarcon

Berto Garcia

Isaac Griswold-Steiner

Jared Steele

Spring 2015 UIF Leadership Circle Candidates:

Francis Atore

Benjamin Simmons

Valente Rodriguez

Victoria Young

Taylor Person

South Plains Connection:

Marshal Head

Campus Overview

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