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James Madison University
Lauren Distler
Promoting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- MadX Labs
MadX Labs is JMU’s first seed stage startup investment accelerator. It aims to serve JMU’s most talented student founders by allowing them to experience a traditional accelerator program; with the mentorship, funding, and office space - while maintaining status as a student.
- Society of Entrepreneurs
The JMU Society of Entrepreneurs brings entrepreneurially minded students together. In the organization members educate each other and the JMU community on topics of interest, support each other with new ventures, and reach out to entrepreneurs in the community to help them and learn from them. The society also hosts speakers and events to educate the JMU community about different topics based around entrepreneurship. The society is application based, and therefore consists of high-caliber entrepreneurs at JMU.
- Startup Studio
Startup Studio is a rapid-pitch event hosted by the Society of Entrepreneurs semi-regularly. In the confines of two hours, students meet, split into groups, recognize a problem related to the given theme, develop a solution, and pitch their idea to the rest of the groups. This exercise helps to illustrate to students how to think with an entrepreneurial, creative problem solving mindset.
- Startup Weekend
A communal event, in Shenandoah Valley, Startup Weekend is for entrepreneurs, designers, programmers, makers, and others who want to pitch a startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. At Startup Weekend, teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote), and then it’s a 54-hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekend culminates with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders for another opportunity for critical feedback.
- Industrial Design Society of America
The IDSA at JMU is an interdisciplinary group that meets weekly to organizes workshops, keynote speaker events, collaborative design projects, and trips to conferences. At its core, the IDSA is empowering industrial design students to make an impact on their community with their innovative design skills. Many are active in other groups that are altering campus or have personal pursuits in design and entrepreneurship. With the industrial design concentration now becoming a full major and the number of students increasing, it is becoming a more vital part of the track for industrial designers at JMU.
- MadHack
MadHack was JMU’’s first full scale hackathon,sponsored by Capital One, offering a creative and collaborative software development experience. For 24 hours students built innovative web and mobile apps, as well as hardware.
- BizBlitz
BizBlitz is JMU’s first full scale “Startup Weekend” style event. s for entrepreneurs, designers, programmers, makers, and others who want to pitch a startup idea and receive feedback from their peers. At BizBlitz, teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote), and then it’s a 54-hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation. The weekend culminates with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders for another opportunity for critical feedback.
- I.C.C.E Pitch Competition & Conference
The I.C.C.E Pitch Competition and Conference is a high energy evening celebrating JMU Entrepreneurs and featuring: JMU Student Pitch Competition, I.C.C.E Talks, networking with alumni, faculty, and students, great food.
- Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (A2RU)
James Madison University has been accepted as a founding member of the Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities largely for its proven reputation as an institution valuing and supporting interdisciplinary undergraduate research. JMU is one of 28 founders and the only comprehensive institution in the alliance whose aim is "to help equip students and faculty to address the world's most pressing, complex and open-ended challenges with creative confidence as well as disciplinary expertise," according to alliance documents.
- ISAT Capstone Projects
As part of the ISAT experience, every senior completes a capstone project. Working individually or in teams, students work on a problem with a real-world component, sometimes teaming with a local industry or governmental sponsor. Capstone project ideas can come from the students themselves, from faculty advisors, or from sponsors. The capstone project allows students opportunity to use the knowledge and skills they learned in ISAT to address a real-world problem, and receive valuable hands-on experience. Students are required to produce a final project report, both in written form and in the form of an oral presentation to the faculty, their student peers, and the public.
- Engineering Capstone Projects
Students work in teams under the direction of a faculty advisor to tackle an engineering design project. Engineering communication, such as reports and oral presentations are covered. We emphasize practical, hands-on experience, and integrate analytical and design skills acquired in companion senior-level core courses.
- Engineers Without Borders
Engineers Without Borders is an organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. JMU EWB is open not only to Engineering majors. Our hope is to recruit students in ISAT, Health and Human Sciences, Business, and Education
- Entrepreneurship RLC
The Entrepreneurship Residential Learning Center is in the process of being developed here at JMU. Students who participate in this Residential Learning Community will have the unique opportunity to live and take classes with a small group of students who share similar interests in Entrepreneurship. The Entrepreneurship RLC is planned to be ready for the incoming class of 2019.
- MBA Program in Innovation
This two year masters program starts with the fundamentals of business before taking a deep dive into creating an invententive environment where students transform into leaders in technology. The program responds to the realization that the business world outside of the university setting is increasingly getting faster so the content of the class aligns with functional topics. While in the curriculum the student is required to take a international trip to one of three countries and gain leaderships skills through workshops. Overall, the Innovation MBA provides the graduate with a competitive advantage for approaching problems in a business setting.
- Undergraduate Academic Programs in Entrepreneurship
- SCOM 480 (Rethinking, Re-envisioning, & Redesigning Environments)
- ISAT 410 (Sustainable Energy Development)
- INDU 492 (Special Topics in Industrial Design)
- MGMT 420 (Management of Technology and Innovation)
- MGMT 450 (Creativity and Innovation)
- PHYS 397 (Topics in Physics - UAV Design)
- ENGR 221 (Management of Technology I: Product Development and Entrepreneurial Engineering)
- ENGR 322 (Engineering Management II: Engineering Project Management)
- MGT 372 (Entrepreneurship)
- MGT 420 (Management of Technology and Innovation)
- MUI 440 (Entrepreneurship in the Music Industry)
- COB 300 (College of Business)
- MGT 472 (Venture Creation)
- PHYS 397 (Topics in Physics: UAV Design)
- NSG 490/ BIO 426/ ENGR 498 (Medical Innovations)
- IARC/INDU 220 (Computer Design Modeling)
- IARC 330 (Materials and Methods)
- ENGR 332 & ENGR 431 (Engineering Design)
- IARC 402 (Studio)
Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- 4-Virginia
4-VA is a collaborative partnership between four Virginia universities. Its mission is to promote inter-university collaborations that leverage the strengths of each partner university in order to accomplish much more than any individual university could achieve alone. A large focus of 4-VA is in training professors and other faculty to implement innovative instructional technologies into their courses. Additionally, 4-VA encourages and funds multiple interdisciplinary courses that deal with innovation in the medical and engineering fields.
- Engineering Advisory Board
Actively Supporting the University Technology Transfer Function
Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration
Collaboration between the students on campus and companies in relevant industries is vital to the sucess of the leadership circle. University and industry collaboration is especially important in engineering, in order to make a connection between students and future employers. Commercialized entities that are able to adapt to the needs of the marketplace are essential within a university, especially in making connections with industry.
There are several resources within James Madison University campus that exemplify "reframed" space on the landscape canvas. These resources may include clubs, organizations, scholarships, groups, or courses within JMU's curriculum. They are divided into 3 sections: Technology/manufacturing, regional sources of capital, and mentoring, business, or advisory networks.
Technology, industrial park, manufacturing and/or wet lab space
The ICE House:
Located in downtown Harrisonburg on Bruce Street, the ICE house is a new collaborative space for James Madison University students and groups. It is also the official meeting location of the University Innovation Leadership Fellows.
3D Printing Lab:
The JMU engineering department is equipped with a 3D printing lab accessable to all students interested in use.
Regional sources of capital
Second Century Scholarship
Available to incoming freshman students interested in the STEM field. Provides 75% in-state tuition.
Mentoring, advisory or business networks
Science and Math Learning Center (SMLC)
Tool available to students enrolled in math and science courses- free tutoring for those struggling.
JMU Engineering Advisory Board
Faculty-selected student group to provide feedback to the department head and other engineering leaders. Feedback usually concerning the development of the new engineering department and program.
Madison Business Network
Faculty group assembled to promote the business mindset and entreprenerial collaboration between departments.
Engaging with Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts
Harrisonburg, Virginia would not be the same without James Madison University in it so we take great pride in our campus, community and giving back. The student body is known for always having a smile, saying hello and opening/holding doors for anyone that comes by so we do our best to keep chivalry alive. Since our campus has so many good-hearted personalities, we have tons of organizations that aid the community. Best Buddies is a community service organization that works with intellectual and developed disabilities by forming one-to-one friendships. Big Brother Big Sisters of James Madison University is a community-based organization for students to help young children be the best they can be. Fast For Food is an organization that increases hunger awareness and promotes hunger relief, locally and globally. Habitat for Humanity helps build affordable housing for those in need by sending volunteers out on weekend to local affiliates nearby. These are just a few of the organizations James Madison offers for students to be apart of the community and more are created every year.
Best Buddies- https://www.bestbuddiesonline.org/
Big Brothers Big Sister- https://beinvolved.jmu.edu/organization/bbbsofjmu
Fast For Food- https://beinvolved.jmu.edu/organization/fastforfood
Habitat For Humanity- https://beinvolved.jmu.edu/organization/habitatforhumanity
More can be found at- https://beinvolved.jmu.edu/organizations?SearchValue=Community%20Service&SearchType=Category&CurrentPage=1&SelectedCategoryId=2588