Resource:How to utilize faculty and other resources on campus for successful interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial work
Contents
Introduction
In order to have a healthy entrepreneurship ecosystem on campus there needs to be more collaboration between the different colleges. A successful startup requires a wide variety of skills to not only be able to create a working product, but create a product that people want to use. In order to support this, you need to effectively use all of the resources available at your disposal.
Needs and Goals
In order for students to work together on interdisciplinary projects there needs to be a pipeline for building and supporting those connections. You need to have faculty and administrators invested in supporting classes or regular projects that students know will exist regularly. Regularity is important because it helps build a reputation and a community around that pipeline, providing new students more support.
Introducing potential and new students to interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial programs, classes, and clubs during campus visits and orientations is important for informing students with such interests. University Innovation Fellows should tap into existing programs and strive to grow their imporantance on campus.
Students of every major can benefit from interdisciplinary work. Classes that blend various majors together have the potential to create, innovate, and problem-solve areas that are overlooked when only one type of mindset is in the classroom. For example, the Chemical Engineering and Nursing class at Tennessee Tech uses students strengths in their different fields to create medical devices. These students must present their product and work to ensure that a built prototype would work. Entrepreneurial skills are laced throughout the coursework and strengthen students’ skills. Setting the bar for campus’ interdisciplinary work is imperative to the effective collaboration of students and their preparedness for future work.
Support
Establishing connections both on and off campus is vital for interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial work to succeed. Creating a network of on-campus connections allows for increased involvement when working on both current and future endeavors.
Your support system will be build of a set of “friendly” student organizations, faculty, administrators, and businesses. It’s entirely possible that although you may be prevented from accessing a resource via one avenue, you may be able to access it in another (such as getting to use a 3D printer in one department instead of another). It’s important to build a support network that you can work with in a symbiotic manner. However, it is important to give back to those who gave to you. If it is only a one way relationship, your partners will be less likely to help you in future endeavors.
Below are some creative ideas as to how you can build relationships:
- Student Organizations: Generally working together on events is a good starting point.
- Faculty: Giving them opportunities to talk about their research, finding them good student researchers, and helping them find a way to commercialize their research can all be options (depending on the person).
- Departments: Generally it helps to host “high profile” events that make the department look better, you can also (in some cases) help them solve key problems of their own using an innovative solution. Either of these will build support.
- Businesses: Working with them to host events, helping them find employees or interns, or even in some cases pitching a successful solution to one of their core problems can help build a relationship with businesses.
The general idea is to provide something for the other member of your ecosystem resulting in receiving a buy-in from them. Ultimately, you need a support network to make your plans succeed in the long-term.
Cost
Initiatives fall into two categories, either being started by students or the administration. These two cases can have a significant impact on the cost of the program. It doesn't mean you can't have a program, as we've seen it's absolutely possible to achieve amazing results on a budget.
Student Initiative
Administration Supported Initiative
Leadership
To be able to reach multiple branches of knowledge and be able to create a plan that teaches students entrepreneurial skills there needs to be a group of leaders to make the change on their campus. The leaders need to be able to reach out to faculty while also getting all of the right people in the room in order to see successful results in interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial work. Using your leadership skills you will need to approach faculty respectful, but also keeping in mind that you don’t want to take no for an answer. Abby Collins, a 2nd-year university fellow, and sophomore at TTU, said in an interview, “Don't take no for an answer". Use your skills to develop a relationship with the most cooperative and supporting faculty that will backup your goals and ideas to have a successful interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial work. Also don't be afraid to stand out in a crowd and speak up for what you believe and have worked so hard for. Speak up in a respectful, approachable, and personable way. Leadership is what you do it is how you do it and interact with other students, faculty, and everyone else along the way. Along the way meet as many new people as you can, because this is how you are going to make the connections that you will most like use in the future.
Launch
Lessons Learned and General Tips
The UIF our team interviewed, Abigail Collins, informed us about the iCube at Tennessee Tech University, which promotes interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial work and collaboration. Here is an awesome video to encapsulate what the iCube has to offer students.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAJoK8bRBus
Making memoriable connections with faculty, along with standing behind your idea is the most important tip to having a successful interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial work.
