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.

Priorities:Texas Tech University Student Priorities Page