Priorities:Utah Valley University Student Priorities

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Overview 

Fall 2020

Fall 2019


Fall 2017


Spring 2016


Utah Valley University is a teaching institution with a unique focus on "engaged learning," or the combination of traditional academic and hands-on education. This mode of teaching goes back to UVU's roots as a vocational school at its inception during World War II and persists today across the institution's full array of university-level programs. Utah Valley University is a school with a rich history of innovation and entrepreneurship. UVU students are passionate about solving the world’s complex problems.

Utah Valley University’s Business Resource Center offers a wide variety of resources for entrepreneurs including: Business Counselors, Accelerator Programs, New Product Development Training, Prototyping, Tech Commercialization, Government Grants, Tech Transfer, The Vivint SMARTLab, and more.  This great abundance of resources drives many student entrepreneurs to utilize the Business Resource Center each year. But how does UVU reach the rest of the students on campus? How can UVU teach students to generate new ideas? How can UVU drive more traffic to the Business Resource Center? 

It is imperative that we engage students in a hands-on learning experience that allows them to identify and solve the problems the world is facing. We must provide students with a cross-disciplinary collaborative environment where they can generate and test new ideas. Our goal is to teach all students about Design Thinking: A human-centered approach to creative problem solving. This knowledge will make students a versatile tool as they enter the workforce. Regardless of major, job, or industry, this knowledge will teach students to solve the unknown problems of tomorrow.  

Strategic Priorities

Career Identity Development

- Create a more engaging strength test.

- Create more ways for students to explore identity.

- Create clubs or student-led associations for identity exploration within careers.

- Interviewing professionals in intro classes.

- Pathway and Cognitive function research integration

Systematic Issue Resolution and Improvement

- Create a list of changes.

- Invite them to participate in the solution.

- Show survey results to highlight issues.

- SkillCo integration with the Course catalogue.

- Input video presentations for each major providing more information on each subject.

- Create a project plan for implementation.

Interactive Online Engagement Enhancement

- Brainstorm different ways to engage students through an online platform.

- Identify a team or individuals responsible for creating an online platform and administering the survey. This team may include faculty, staff, and students.

- Clearly communicate the purpose and importance of the survey to students.

- Use learning analytics tools and data tracking to monitor student engagement during online classes. Compile all data.

- Use multiple communication channels to distribute the survey, including email, social media, and announcements in online courses.

- Use UX design to create a very user-friendly platform.

- Test out with a beta class and receive feedback.

- Regularly evaluate and update the technology infrastructure

Freshman Major Outlook Program/App

- Create an innovative web-app that freshman take early in their freshmen year. They will take personality and interest tests, and will be directed to relevant major programs and resources on campus.

- Integrate the app with UVU's student success program.

- Create the engineering infrastructure for the app to carry on every year.

Improving Campus Energy Efficiency through Aerial Thermal Imagery

- Provide aerial/drone thermal imagery of campus grass areas and rooftops to find locations of improvement energy-wise.

- Create reports and insights for where the campus can improve water usage or find rooftop heat leaks.

- Train facilities and grounds staff to be able to carry on energy efficient imaging so that these services can be provided years from now.

Healthy and Affordable Food Options on Campus

- Provide affordable/subsidized food options for students.

- Create a booth or vending machine where students can easily purchase affordable food.

- Coordinate with food services and the culinary school to provide healthy options and meals for

Innovation Catalysts Program

-Helps students gain leadership skills

-Finding funding for student scholarships

-Creating the infrastructure and sustainability for the program to go from year to year

-Finding a director over the innovation so that there is someone keeping it whole from year to year

Industry Connections to Campus

-Working on creating partnerships and donations between industries that want to get involved

-Create partnership classes

-Projects at industry sites worked on by students

Faculty Catalysts Informational Teaching and Research Opportunities

-Funding for projects and supplementing time

-Bring faculty and professors into innovation catalyst class

-Find ways to bring innovation into specific professors' courses

-Provide a way for professors to bring their projects to innovation catalysts

Project Match Application

-Creating the interface for the app

-Prototyping the app and incorporate the appropriate analytics

-Beta testing the app to know what works what does not

-Updating the app constantly to fix issues or bugs

Change an Underutilized Computer Lab Into a Innovation Lounge

-In order to even build an I&E ecosystem, we need to build a community of respect for the profession that starts with the building we are in. We need a place for groups and students to meet and learn Design Thinking

-Interview/collect data about current use of the room.

-Create a full prototye of vision for the room.

-Present data and plan to the dean and admin of the School of Education.

-Present data and plan to Presidential Cabinet.

Create a Workshop Series about Innovation in Education 

-Gage interest from faculty, staff and students.

-Create the curriculum. 

-Find presenters & Build curriculum.

Create a Teachers For Innovation Club

-Form an official club through UVU Clubs.

-Recruit at club rush, jump start orientation, in our new lounge and in classes. 

-Hold elections for club officers.

-Plan various activities.

Build a Student Run Pop-Up Shop in the Innovation Lounge 

-Get approval from School of Education Administration as well as Presidential Cabinet

-Find a student to run the pop-up shop.

-Select Inventory based on student interests and needs.

-Create a schedule for the shop.

-Use the money to bridge the Innovation gap in educators. 

-Use foot traffic in the shop to promote workshop series and club.

Create a Center for Excellence & Innovation on Campus

-Work with Presidential Cabinet to facilitate the design and development of the UVU Center for Excellence & Innovation

-Work with adminsitration to create sustainable model and policies for the new Center. 

-Secure physical land in Vineyard, Utah. (Completed 09/2019)

-Secure temporary space on campus. (Completed 09/2019

Utilize Business Resource Center 

-Move University Innovation Fellow program into the Business Resource Center at UVU. 

-Create sustainable model of growth and development to move into a phyisical dedicated building.

-Create comfortable space for students to innovate and design. 

Organize Silicon Slopes Business Group

-Gather President and local CEO's to dicuss potential for innovation and excellance in Utah County.

-Regularly meet with this group, as a steering commitee for innovation. 

UVU Excellence & Innovation Initiative Launch

-Work with President and Cabinet to coordinate announcement of the initiative/center dedicated to innovation in November.
-Work with President and Cabinet to coodinate official launch of inititative/center for innovation and excellence in April of 2020. 
-Work with President to invite community organizations, business, and others to the launch.
-Coordinate panel with President and other innovative minds.  

Work on Major Innovation Projects

-Design and implement project-matching app on campus.
-Begin work on student-led solar company

Create a Website that will compound all the resources available for I&E

-Increase awareness about the resources available for Innovation and Entrepreneurship through a Website (Wendy - September 2018)

-Introduce the website to Faculty and Students (Wendy - September 2018)

-Promote the use of the website through the discover passport activity (Wendy - September 2018)

-Promote the use of resources through class assignments  (Wendy - September 2018)

-Provide a 5 to 10 minutes training about how to use the website to learn about the resources (Wendy -September 2018)

-Include videos, about the use of the resources, on the website to make it more interactive and attractive (Wendy -September 2018- January 2019)

- Create ready to use lesson plans for professors to implement in their courses, that includes engaging with a resource (Khaliun - July 2018)

- Create engaging 'Escape Room'-style resource discovery/adventure guides for I&E resources. (Khaliun- July 2018)

- Create a Discover Passport for students to mark discovered resources (Khaliun - July 2018)


Related Links

Utah Valley University

Utah Valley University Student Priorities

University Innovation Fellows

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University Innovation Fellows

Spring 2018:

Luke_Atticus_Kennard

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Fall 2017:

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Spring 2016:

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Spring 2015:

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UIF Project Business Model Canvas - 2015

UIF Project Business Model Canvas - 2016


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