Resource:How to build and outfit an on-campus innovation space
Contents
Introduction
Creating a new design or innovation space on campus at first appears to be a daunting task. This task can involve manpower, money, hours of time, and a delirious passion for making an impact on campus. Instead of talking about a blueprint of how to build an on-campus innovation space, a current University Innovation Fellow Jared Karp, discussed exactly what bring a design and innovation space to campus really means. Furthermore, he endeavored into the questions of why and how this space can be used to empower students to generate their own vision and execute on their own ideas. While I interviewed Jared, I came across many interesting tips for helping start up an innovation space; however, talking to him showed me that creating an innovation space is much more than fitting a set model to a new campus. The action of creating this space takes entrepreneurial spirit itself! Nevertheless, I realized the enormous positive impact an innovate space can have on student entrepreneurs. The goal of this space is not only to ideate, tinker, and network but also inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs. Through this how to guide, I hope you get a sense of not just what is going on within this space and how to built it, but WHY it is absolutely necessary for your campus.
Need and Goals
The need comes from students wanting to collaborate and work together in a forward thinking, creative, and innovative environment. On-campus innovation space creates a place where students can aggregate around the common interest of being curious or passionate about an idea. Many campuses, especially mine at Wake Forest University have a number of entrepreneurs; however, they have minimal interaction with each other. This is where I see the need. Bring these students together would create a supportive environment allowing team formation, collecting of resources, campus wide networking. Students could motivate each other and push through set backs along their process. The need that an innovation space fundamentally fills is that of a collaborative work environment. To access this need, surveys to students can be done, focus groups, questionnaires, or interviews with students. At the same time, student leaders can also see the growing need and act upon it by attempt to take on the challenge of implementing an on-campus innovation space.
The goal of building an on-campus innovation space is to fulfill a vision of student entrepreneurs working together from across many disciplines to solve common problems. Building a physical space on-campus also gives entrepreneurship a location, face, and identity on-campus which can be lost in the mix of other influential organization. Another goal would be to allow students to think and work outside the classroom. This real life hands on experience is invaluable for student entrepreneurs entering into post graduation life.
Academic Permission
Academic permission is the tough part of creating an on-campus innovation space. This process is also difficult to write an exact "how to guide" because each campus has a different process and permission steps. While talking to the co-found of Design Engineering Collaborative at UC Berkeley, Jared Karp, I was able to find some ways to overcome this hurdle. Jared first stated that you should find the person that can say yes. By this meant that universities are filled with people who will love your idea and tell you to reach for the stars; however, very few of them have the authority to sign off and say...yes! It is important to find this person or find someone who can introduce you to this person. Jared also suggested that you should be prepared for this conversations with all the materials you would need to show that this is NEEDED and it is VIABLE. These are key points that anyone will want to know before signing off. Hard evidence like your market research and cost analysis could go a long way towards that signature. Furthermore, you must give off a feeling of infectious excitement, enthusiasm, and passion for what you are doing/about to do. This is contagious and most people will not be able to say no. Lastly, as Jared said, "do everything with a smile." If you are passionate about changing your campus, making an impact, and have a vision then you definitely have something to smile about.
Support
Support is an interesting part of the "How to guide." Most of us think of support as financial backing, advisors, teachers, and whatever else support may consist of. In this case, I think support really needs to be a critical mass of students that show their support for an on-campus innovation space. The most important part of this (which also leads to academic permission) is that the administration is going to want a large number of students interested in this space. The ideal goal would be to form a team of students who you closely work with to get this idea rolling. You then want to get as many students as possible behind this movement, somewhat like a nuclear chain reaction, you must reach critical mass. This has to be a point where the administration has to listen to the student body. In Jared's case, he developed the idea from a place called IDEO and also saw what Stanford was doing with their d-school. He figured that UC Berkeley could use the same type of space on-campus. Jared organized a team and then student leaders from all related groups and formed a large movement on campus.
Location
Location is an important aspect of your on-campus innovation space. Jared and I both agreed that the ideal place for a design location is somewhere centrally located on campus. This place would be somewhere students could stop by for 10 minutes or hours at a time. This central location idea also breaks the idea that only science, business, or engineering students could use this space. In fact, it should be somewhere on campus where every students interacts with one another. Unfortunately, not all campuses have been build with having an on-campus innovation space in mind. Sometimes, any place must do and that is exactly what Jared found. While wondering around campus one day, he found himself in a building that had several unused classrooms. Jared found who was in charge of the empty rooms and was able to get privileges to renovate the space. He has now turned this location into his campus' innovation space he calls the student hub for engineering and design (SHED).
Activities
There are a number of activities that can go on in an on-campus innovation space. Students can come together and work collaboratively or also individually on ideas they are curious about. Innovation spaces allow students to create ideas using white board space and then take this idea and begin creating a rudimentary prototype. Furthermore, this space provides teachers with an area to teach innovate through design and engineering, Classes could be taught to facilitate students in the entrepreneurial process as they create plans for their venture. In addition, meetings for groups can be held in this space. The SHED at UC Berkeley is used for all of these things including weekly meetings Jared explained. He said that each week they come together and do an ICE breaker activity, another creative/innovative activity, and have presentations by individuals wishing to form teams. To join this group, Jared said that there is an application process along with a membership fee. This allows them to get small supplies that support the group as well as get the students invested in the space. Overall, the activities can consist anything that the members of its community wish to hold.
Materials
Materials to outfit an on-campus innovation space consist of simple tools, some electronics, computers (sometimes), lounging space, whiteboards, and building materials. Anything that would be needed to do some simple tinkering and getting an idea off the ground. Jared stressed that materials could start out being as little as markers and whiteboards. It is more about the space and people than the materials within it.
Management
Management of an on-campus innovation space can vary depending on the desires of the members. The area is managed by the group and is thought of as group owned where anyone can use anything. There is an atmosphere of respect for each other and the tools that belong in that space. It basically takes care of itself. Sometimes groups have an elected "space captain" as Jared called it, to oversee the area and make sure tools are functioning property. The key point is that this is about community and wanting to build, innovate, and create. Mutual respect for one another and unification under a common vision are all keys to effectively managing an on-campus innovation space.
Launch
Lessons and Tips
Create a new design or innovation space
• Intro (short paragraph describing the space that was created)
• Need and goal (what you did to assess the need and how this space would fill that need)
• Academic permission (what kind of permission and proposals were needed)
• Support (what types of support were necessary — faculty, student, leadership, alumni, community, etc)
• Cost (what funding was necessary to create and maintain the space, and how that funding was found/raised)
• Location (where the new space is located and why it was located there)
• Activities (what activities occur in the space)
• Materials (what materials were needed to make the space successful, and how you gathered those materials)
• Management (how you selected who would manage the space and how it would be managed)
• Launch (how you promoted and launched the new space)
• Lessons learned and tips for others (what worked and what didn’t, and your recommendations for others)