Fellow:Felipe Alfonzo
Hey!
Felipe Alfonzo is a 3rd generation UIF in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. He is a Marketing Undergrad with a passion for helping innovations come to market. His has been able to put his marketing knowledge to use in very different work experiences from developing commercialization programs to web development. Further interest include macroeconomics, small business development,and entrepreneurship.
See our Universities I&E Lanscape Canvas
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As a UIF candidate...
I learned that:
A key problem identified is that:
Ideas arriving for incubation in our university's entrepreneurial programs, in their majority, are not innovation based or mature enough.
I believe this is occurring because:
The I&E ecosystem's idea generation efforts are still in development.
This is a problem because:
This step directly affects the amount of successful startups produced by the innovation pipeline in our university.
I plan to:
Promote a better ideation process for a more mature innovation pipeline in the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.
This will be done through:
- This will be done by developing events similarto weekend ideation boot camps
- Developing communities andprograms relatedto innovative industries through which students can gain knowledge on these industries and the technologies disrupting it.
- Encouraging students to participate in customer discovery.
In conclusion I wish to:
Expose more student to industry-oriented innovation to enable a more mature ideation process. I believe this will 1) give more unified direction to the efforts of the internal innovation pipeline in Idea Platform and 2) drastically help more successful startups develop in our I&E Ecosystem not only at a campus level but Island-wide
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Idea Platform
I'm the current president of the biggest I&E student association in our university, Idea Platform.
Who are we
This is a committed group of students led communities able to contribute to their community through
innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
Vision
Help develop Puerto Rico through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Our Communities:
Communities in idea platform grow by finding a common innovative topic they're passionate about.
Communities in Idea Platform make up what we call our innovation pipeline that has as ultimate goal to promote hands-on innovation and increase the number of startups developed by students.
Types of Communities
- Technical knowledge - Resourcer and tool to enable innovation(Making and coding)
- Industry Innovation - Currently working on this component of the pipeline to increase the probability of student developing mature ideas for startups.(Biomedical, Fintech, Cosmetics, and Virtual Reality)
- Entrepreneurship Program - Have already helped develop 24 startups
Programs
Idea Platform has a culture that promotes project-based programs in its branches
Events
First TedX UPRM, Elicit Innovation, 1st Startup Job fairs, Hackathons(In VR and Making)
Innovation Spaces:
- E.P.I.C. Makespace - We developed and currently manage the first Makerspace in the UPR system. This makes space is accessible to students of all disciplines with resources and equipment for students interested in anything from making to startup ideation.
- We developed collaborative office spaces for starups
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Fintech UPRM
I'm currently developing a community related to the field of Fintech, UPRM Fintech.
Who are we?
Fintech UPRM is an initiative run by a student community, whose primary goal is to expose students to the industry of fintech. We wish for this industry to be seen by students through the lens of experts and of well-established companies such as international investment banks, established fintech companies such as Evertec and fintech startups such as Aseguratec.
Mission
Expose students to the Fintech field through project-based programs/curriculum aimed at creating experts at identifying opportunities and implementing innovative solutions applied to this industry?
Vision
Directly impact the number of mature, innovative tech-based projects developed by students in the financial field, resulting in the emergence of UPRM as a hub for financial innovation.
How This Started?
This developing community was started by a student who is part of Stanford’s d.school UIF program. The University Innovation Fellowship objective is for students to develop high impact initiatives relating to topics of innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E). While developing a landscape study of the I&E ecosystem of the UPRM we saw a necessity for communities, programs, and events that promote industry-focused innovation.
Feel free to contact me at: felipe.alfonzo@upr.edu or (787) 318-9152
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