Priorities:Southern Methodist University Student Priorities
Contents
Overview
Southern Methodist University is a private research university located in Dallas, Texas. SMU is nationally renown for the Cox School of Business and Meadows School of the Arts. Both schools offer many courses and programs for Entrepreneurship. The Cox school of business is home to the Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Meadows has gained notice for it's innovative Arts Entrepreneurship program. In recent years, the Lyle School of Engineering has been climbing in the rankings and known around the state of Texas as an elite engineering school for it's quality education and focus on Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
SMU is home to two different interdisciplinary spaces for ideation and venture acceleration, The Deason Innovation Gym (Lyle School of Engineering) and The Cube. The innovation Gym is an on-campus makerspace, where students from all across the school can gain 24 hour access. The Gym has most any tool imaginable, including a laser cutter, vinyl cutter, cmc router, and 3 3d printers. Students work on personal and class projects as well as participate in multiple programs run out of the gym.
Although SMU has many resources to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, most programs are run out of separate schools and see/ offer very little crossover between students in other schools. Some programs, such as those run through Big Ideas, are campus wide initiatives, but they struggle to recruit students due to fragmentation throughout the schools. In many ways, the I&E resources all fight for the same students. There needs to be a way for students to better connect to the existing programs.
Additionally, there are gaps seen in the survey of campus resources. More programs devoted to spinning out ideas are necessary, a technology transfer overhaul is a must, and extra-curricular student run design programs are necessary for greater student devotion to entrepreneurship and innovation. Administration and faculty are devoted to continue making SMU a birthplace of innovation. There are hurdles to overcome, but there is enough backing to push SMU to the forefront in entrepreneurship and innovation.
Strategy #1: Create an Umbrella Organization for all I&E resources
Tactic #1: Design the Organization and create a "business plan"
Tactic #2: Court Adminstration, Faculty, and Donors
Tactic #3: Create the organization and website
Tactic #4: Properly staff the organization and set vision for I&E on campus
Strategy #2: Form a Technology Transfer Office
Tactic #1: Form Technology Transfer Board
Tactic #2: Create Tech Transfer Policy
Tactic #3: Tie the Technology Transfer Office in with the Umbrella I&E Organization
Strategy #3: Create more programs dedicated to Spin- out and Pursue
Tactic #1: Identify existing national programs and other internal programs
Tactic #2: Work new programs in with other existing resources
Strategy #4: Create Student-led extracurricular design programs
Tactic #1: Call SMU students to design new programs
Other
Although spaces are available already, there need to be design and incubating spaces all around campus in order to not ostracize students who don't live or study near existing spaces. Creating spaces will require a lot of funding and direction from the umbrella organization cited in Strategy #1.