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When looking towards the existing ecosytem of assets on campus, Furman has a number of existing initiatves that foster innovation and creativity across campus - setting it apart from others that are similar in size. Courses like Entrepreneurship and New Venture Development, Graphic Design, Advertising Design and Design for Social Change lead to the development of venture concepts that are incubator-ready – and in some cases – ready to launch. Faculty-Student research and co-curricular projects stemming from the Shi Center for Sustainability have led to the development of social ventures like the [http://www2.furman.edu/sites/sustainability/CommunityOutreach/Pages/CommunityConservationCorps.aspx Community Conservation Corps], [http://www.millvillagefarms.org Mill Village Farms]: a network of urban farms that equip underserved youth with farming and entrepreneurial skills, and [http://www.millvillagefarms.org/good-to-go-greenville/ Good to Go Greenville]: a mobile market that provides access to fresh produce in food deserts across the county.
Through the [http://www2.furman.edu/sites/internship/FURMANADVANTAGE/Pages/default.aspx Furman Advantage ]program, many sophomores, juniors and seniors are engaging in internships that matc<span style="background-color:#ffff00">h them with startups and mature companies across sectors allow introduce them to explore their interests in innovation, entrepreneurship, design, innovation and technologycreative practice.</span> In addition, student organizations like [https://www.facebook.com/furmancreative Furman Creative Collaborative] are planting seeds for a movement of entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity on campus by hosting design thinking workshops and planning events like TEDxFurmanU and 3 Day Startup.
<br/>With this said, the infrastructure for Furman's innovation ecosystem leaves plenty of opportunities for growth and development. Few intiatives on campus allow s<span style="background-color:#ffff00">tudents students to apply what they are learning thro</span>ugh experiential courses through experiences that lead to tangible outcomes. In addition, there are no central places on campus for students to access tools, training and support needed to develop new ventures, projects and organizations that make real-world impact.
While assessing the innovation ecosystem on campus, students pointed towards peers that were creating apps, launching social ventures and starting companies in their dorm rooms. When asked to comment on the entrepreneurial community on campus, these students <span style="background-color:#ffff00">mentiond </span>mentioned that they aren’t surrounded with peers and mentors that can nurture their ideas and grow them to scale. At the same time, students in the art and business <span style="background-color:#ffff00">department </span>departments are creating venture concepts for class that are viable and compelling, but need further development. Since students have no place to take their projects after the class ends, many plateau or are terminated due to lack of time, committment and support. These students <span style="background-color:#ffff00">mentioned </span>all mentioned that a network of peer collaborators was desired, along with access to working capital, alumni mentors, community partners and dedicated time and space for venture development. Others mentioned that they would like see a start-up student incubator, a student venture fund and start-up training programs take root on campus in the years ahead.
At the curricular level, faculty from Earth and Environmental Science, Philosophy, Art, Business and Sustainability Science all expressed interest in integrating concepts related to creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship into their existing courses. Several of these faculty have expressed interest in creating team-taught courses that bring students from different disciplines together to solve real-world problems. In addition, staff members at the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Shi Center for Sustainability mentioned that they would like to work towards the creation of be interested in developing a faculty professional development program to equip professors faculty with strategies, tools and curricular resources for course integration. With this said, faculty and staff alike have mentioned that the currrent structure of teaching community the semseter leaves them with little time, energy and resouorces to devote to efforts like this.
= A Strategy for Collective Impact<br/> =
