Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategic Priorities for the Colorado School of Mines
Contents
Vision for the Colorado School of Mines
Short-Term Strategy: Sparking Interest
Enable students by creating a collaborative spaces for creativity, design, and innovation.
Many of the most forward thinking companies provide spaces for employees that encourage innovation. Well designed spaces often serve as catalysts for enhanced collaboration and innovation. We will create collaborative spaces for students that allows for greater creativity, design and innovation on campus. By holding events and meetings in the spaces, students across all disciplines will begin to use the spaces to work with others projects.
In addition to having a few dedicated spaces, there are many common areas that would make excellent pop-up spaces. We will provide guides and resources to students to successfully create a temporary collaborative space of their own anywhere on campus.
betaversity
Bringing betaversity's betaspace or betabox to Mines would provide students with a modern prototyping space so students can apply their creativity and knowledge to develop innovative solutions.
Establish monthly design, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship (DICE) events
By collaborating with organizations and faculty across campus, we will hold events that expose students to proven concepts and priciples that lead to truly innovative solutions. Having regular events will help foster a community of innovation and entrepreneurship that doesn't occur in traditional lecture setting.
Next Steps: Institutional Acceptance and Support for DICE
Update design classes to incorporate modern design & development principles
Most students at mines are exposed to design in EPICS I, EPICS II (including department specific EPICS II) and Senior Design. Only a few of the cirriculums Most students at mines are exposed to design in EPICS I, EPICS II (including department specific EPICS II) and Senior Design. Only a few of the curriculums incorporate the following ideas/processes widely practiced in industry: design-thinking, problem focused design, rapid & low resolution prototyping, fast failure, and lean principles. Incorporating all of these practices into the curriculum would properly prepare students to develop truly innovative solutions to real problems. The design courses can allow for more creativity and innovation by shifting from constraining projects to open-ended problem based projects.
Grow and expand the entrepreneurship course offerings
According to the Undergraduate Bulletin, there is an “Area of Special Interest in Entrepreneurship” that consists of 3 classes that are not currently offered.
To demonstrate that entrepreneurship is a priority to the university and the Department of Economics and Business, the ASI needs to be updated and promoted. There are several course offerings focused on design thinking and entrepreneurship that should be incorporated into a certificate program, minor or area of special interest for entrepreneurship.
Ideally the entrepreneurship program would incorporate a multidisciplinary senior design alternative course that allows students from any major to apply principles from the engineering and entrepreneurship curriculums.
Establish a speaker series for design, innovation and entrepreneurship
Creating a regular speaker series focused on design, innovation and entrepreneurship will develop interest as well as connect the entrepreneurial community around Mines to current students.
Many Mines alum and faculty have relevant experience and insight to inspire a new generation of makers, doers and entrepreneurs.
A series focused on I&E would be a multidisciplinary initiative that would have wide spread support across campus due to the universal nature of I&E principles.
Long-term Vision
Create a multidisciplinary design, innovation and entrepreneurship institute
The establishment of a multidisciplinary design institute will allow for the creation of a modern engineer that is equipped to develop solutions to complex real world problems. Having a design institute would make Mines the premier institution for engineering and applied science education.