Changes

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Following are an array of strategies that will fully address Gap #2 over a 2-3 year period:

*ANYONE can join. All that is required is commitment, curiosity, and critical thinking! It is not only exciting to be activated, as students, to generate ideas, now you have a chance to put those ideas into action, to implement and thereby create impact by following through with an idea. Relish in the opportunities presented to us at such a great institution, bridge connections between peers in other disciplines at any level, freshman undergrad to Doctoral student. Work in variable sized teams to bring projects from the idea phase to fruition whether from design to building or product idea to commercialization. Design Impact Lab is a trans-disciplinary student collaborative centered around leveraging diverse expertise and using design thinking to create impact at multiple scales by bringing ideas to implementation.

**Small victories updates

*<span style="font-size: 12px;">This program is meant to spark interest amongst students who may not feel they have the time to “be involved” with entrepreneurship and design thinking during their regular semester. It is also for students wishing to gain a design thinking and entrepreneurial mindset and skillset through applied learning. The structure of the 15 day course would be oriented towards design idea incubation, prototyping or fabrication and pitching your idea to external critics.</span>

**Raise awareness among students

*<span style="font-size: 12px;">Maker spaces should and could be available for ALL students! Think of the invention and spark that could happen if we as students knew physical spaces where we could go to test our new ideas. This program leverages existing resources and spaces and would provide assistance for finding or making physical space for new startups. Students would be able to search through an online platform and mobile app that connects individual students and student groups with available immediate, temporary, short and long-term spaces. The program and task team would have documented a network of spaces on campus and their availability, which could be seen through a map interface on the system. If no space exists, students can contact mDIL (Maryland Design Impact Lab) and request a task team to design a temporary flex-space. This method would thereby provide a need and direction for students looking for innovation space that may not be part of an existing start up, or part of the Engineering or business school. In addition, this service will also give mDIL interdisciplinary design teams the opportunity to practice applying their developing ideation, fabrication and implementation skillsets to address a need.</span>