Priorities:Villanova University Student Priorities
Contents
Introduction
The most paramount issue plaguing Villanova’s campus is the reputation of innovation and entrepreneurship. As a school that in many ways encourages the traditional path of education, graduate schooling and entry into the corporate world, many people do not respect the seemingly eccentric and unproductive façade that covers the world of innovation. Measures need to be taken to show students on campus, from nurses to business students, engineers to scientists, that innovation can help them progress professionally and personally to wherever they plan to be in the near or distant future. The way that this can be done is first through the transfer of knowledge. Innovation, as a mindset, a tool, or a method, will gain respect with the creation of an Innovation Council Board that can operate in tandem with the Villanova Entrepreneurial Society. The council can publicize under-appreciated events and opportunities at Villanova, as well as create their own. The innovation ecosystem can be further united through the creation of a comprehensive Entrepreneurship Minor Program, and the birth of a maker space on campus in which students of all disciplines will be able to collaborate. Through these few methods, the terms and activities associated with "innovation" and "entrepreneurship" will lose their stigma and become more vibrant on campus, creating lasting changes that will effect thousands.
Understanding Innovation & Uniting Campus
Strategy 1: Comprehensive Minor Program
Currently, Villanova offers an Entrepreneurship minor for students in the School of Business, and an Engineering Entrepreneurship minor for students enrolled in the College of Engineering. Meanwhile, the Beyond Ideas Committee functions largely to unite the five colleges of Villanova through entrepreneurship events. The events the committee holds can only be so effective if these students return to their respective colleges and entrepreneurship programs afterwards. If colleges were uprooted by their segregated bases and the entrepreneurship minor was universal to all students, this would open a new realm of collaboration.
Strategy 2: Innovation Council Board
An Innovation Council Board could be created to bring organization and a central location for innovative activity and action. The council board will be interdisciplinary, with representatives from all colleges at Villanova, including graduate students and professors to advise the board. The board will unite all sides of campus and have two main purposes, as detailed in the following section.
Strategy 3: Publicity & Events
There are two main issues that an Innovation Council Board could attack and resolve-
Existent Opportunities Villanova, with 6500 undergrads, graduate students, and Philadelphia within reach, offers a plethora of opportunities. Guest speakers, workshops, conferences, networking events, and more are all highly frequent occurrences. However, many of these opportunities are not taken advantage of by many students. For example, the most recent TEDx Villanova hosted an incredible collection of speakers, but the student attendance did not even reach the capacity set by TEDx. An Innovation Council board could become a hub for all innovative activity on campus. It could fill gaps in advertising and publicity where other groups are lacking to ensure all students are aware of their opportunities.
Spreading Knowledge The necessity to spread knowledge of innovation is a theme in the student priorities for Villanova. A council board could host events in which they can educate students about what innovation is all about and how it can help them. Workshops meant to inspire students would ignite innovation through campus.
Opportunities for Innovation in Action
Strategy 1: Creating a Maker Space
Villanova currently has a Multidisciplinary Design Lab which provides a location for students to work. However, students would truly benefit from another maker space. The additional maker space should have more resources within it for prototyping, and be more open to movement (as the MDL is separated into table sections) so students can collaborate with ease. The existent MDL is also frequently overcrowded, preventing students from working there if they did not put in the forethought to reserve their own area for the time period in which they plan to work. This formulaic planning to brainstorm or collaborate nearly defeats the purpose of having an MDL. A new maker space will have more room for students to freely walk in whenever they feel inspired. Villanova is currently working on an expansion of the Center for Engineering Education and Research which will include the development of an innovation space in the library and a tinkerer's lab in the basement of the building with a close proximity to the existent machine shop. These spaces should provide students with more of the resources and physical space they need to create.