Campus Overview

Promoting Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship

In a world where technology changes rapidly, there is only one skillset that will always be in demand: the ability to adapt.

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs understands this, and has a mission to promote student innovation and entrepreneurship. UCCS has a unique degree called theBachelor of InnovationTM that directly translates into the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship on campus and in student's lives. Students in this program are required to engage in various entrepreneurial courses and innovation courses. For many student's this is an excellent opportunity and first introduction to these concepts, one that encourages them to practice those skill on real project in the real world.

This degree, however, poses a unique problem: the degree is forming its own silo within the university. Siloing is the antithesis of collaboration and innovation. Other degrees, such as the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science, are not exposed to this valuable form of education. Overall, entrepreneurship and innovation are highly encouraged pursuits on campus, and many opportunities for their experssion are available to students.

In order to expand the reach of this education, the University Innovation Fellows team has chosen to focus on engaging freshmen level students, and progressively providing more opportunities for practicing these valuable skills.

Encouraging Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Faculty offer the biggest advantages that students at University of Colorado Colorado Springs have at their disposal . The Bachelor of InnovationTM (BI) degree is itself an innovation brought to us by the faculty. The BI is the only degree in innovation in the United States. Terrance Boult, the founder of the BI, specifically made the BI a degree and not a program in efforts to make the BI accessible to everyone. Opposed to a Bachelor of Science or Arts, the BIdegree has a unique 24 credit curriculum that centers around innovation and entrepreneurship. Furthermore, UCCS College of Business faculty just opened a community workspace/incubator designed for student start-ups. The UCCS faculty consistently innovate in the campus community.

Actively Supporting the University Technology Transfer Function

Within the Bachelors of Innovation™ we have two courses that teach our students about intellectual property and support our university technology transfer function. The first is Business and Intellectual Property Law. In this class, students dive into what intellectual property means and how they can protect their ideas. Students learn how to develop a patent and work together to understand how these skills fit into their futures. The second class, Technical Writing, teaches students how to research, find, and write grants, culminating in writing a real grant proposal for a real client. Both of these classes provide students with hands on experience and skills that they will be able to apply in their future careers. After taking these two classes students have a realistic grasp on what intellectual property is and how they can protect, and leverage it in their future.

Facilitating University-Industry Collaboration

The community of Colorado Spring is very entrepreneurially focused and our university is dedicated to teaching innovation and entrepreneurship to students in business, engineering and the arts and sciences. Colorado Springs has makerspaces, coworking spaces, incubators, accelerators and other resources to facilitate the development of startups. With all of these entrepreneurial resources, it is key that the university has substantial relationships with each outlet. Through various programs currently being implemented in conjunction with the university, students have access to internships such as Startup Summer or educational resources such as Startup Weekend.

Engaging with Regional and Local Economic Development Efforts

The university is not well connected with regional and economic development efforts. For instance, we have a facility in downtown Colorado Springs called Catalyst Campus. This campus provides coworking space for developers and small companies to innovate together and create a more colorful and developed economic ecosystem in downtown Colorado Springs. The potential to have a relationship with Catalyst Campus and send future programmers there for internship options and possible employment is an opportunity we must capitalize on. Colorado Springs is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation and it is crucial that our university is well connected with other organizations around the city.

School:University of Colorado Colorado Springs

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