School:University of North Alabama
Contents
Overview
The University of North Alabama is a liberal arts college in one of the oldest and most historic cities in the state. The school was foudned on a basis of education and nursing and has grown into a culture of arts, entrepreneurship, and a wide array of multidisciplinary studies. Last year, the College of Business brought Innovation Engineering onto campus, transforming the community and department into a place where cultivating entrepreneurship and STEM programs is vital.
Four students were chosen to pursue the Innovation Fellows Candidacy Program last Fall. We work alongside a faculty group whose aim is to spread Innovation Engineering and Entrepreneurship into all departments as well as bring Engineering as a program onto campus. Our job is to get students excited and informed about these changes, and to educate them on the vitality that skills of entrepreneurship and innovation holds in their majors and career paths.
While surveying, students informed us that they didn’t believe their majors needed entrepreneurship or innovation, because it wasn’t a business department and they didn’t want to own a business. First, we had to change the verbiage to get students to understand that this topic is not only relevant, but absolutely VITAL for their majors, departments, and careers, community and the university.
Promoting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The backing of the faculty at UNA is very prevalent. The faculty and staff are the whole reason we are able to have the limited amount of innovation and entrepreneurship that we do have. They are working hand and hand with us to increase the amount of innovation and entrepreneurship that is on our campus. They are bringing in different start-ups and programs to help increase the awareness of the importance. The faculty are deep in planning to implement STEM on our campus. They are also trying to involve innovation and entrepreneurship into all majors, internships, and careers. The staff and faculty here at UNA are very supportive and understand the importance of having innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and the positive impact it can have on the student’s life and careers.
Actively Supporting the University Technology Transfer Function
Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration
With the help of the University of North Alabama and substantial leaders in the area, our community has been able to create and maintain key centers such as the Generator and the Entrepreneurial Center. The Generator is UNA’s very own student incubator center that will be used to assist aspiring students with business startups. The Entrepreneur Center will be used to further facilitate un-peraralled industry collaboration. With these resources combined we will have a full arsenal of resources at our fingertips to further promote the growth of UNA.
Please refer to this link for more information on the Generator: