1 Overview
2 Strategy #1: Help Female Students Develop I&E Ability
3 Strategy #2: Increasing Experiential Learning Opportunities
4 Strategy #3: Enhance Connection Between I&E Sources
5 Strategy #4: Adjust Curriculum
6 Strategy #5: Make Events Influential
7 Strategy #6 Fund, Fund, Fundamental Fund!
8 Strategy #7 Improve I＆E Courses
- 8.1 Tactic #1: Pay more attention to practice
- 8.2 Tactic #2: Invite more distinguished guest to share experience
9 Strategy #8 Provide phased guidance of I&E
10 Strategy #9 Laboratory researches combined with I&E
11 Strategy #10 Build a platform to break the information asymmetry in I&E in the campus
12 Related Links
- 12.1

Overview

Coming soon: Your Video (Session 5)

Here is the Prezi of our four projects: <a href="http://prezi.com/zfjvbyc_sti6/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&nbsp">http://prezi.com/zfjvbyc_sti6/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&nbsp</a>;

Strategy #1: Help Female Students Develop I&E Ability

We are surprised to find that a noticeable number of female interviewees (80 percent) in our school don’t want to do any entrepreneurship or pioneering work since they are afraid of their gender as well as the heavy work. We wonder if this means that she misunderstands the concept of entrepreneurship, or there is a discrimination on females in our society and she is influenced to some extent.

We can set up an association in Zhejiang University, which aims to help women in the university realize how to avoid weaknesses in the innovation and entrepreneurship, and teach them how their strengths can be utilized. In this way, they will understand that there are many opportunities for women in the innovation and entrepreneurship, and they will have more enthusiasm in I&E program.

Tactic#1: Set up a community in Zhejiang University

In China's universities, the establishment of associations is a quite complicated matter. Because the school supervises the associations strictly, the establishment of associations needs to prepare a lot of material, and after layers of approval. For example, the first thing is to put a variety of documents (more than a dozen forms) submitted to the Federation, and the Federation of associations would verify the data, sorting and archiving, and report to the community guidance center.

Tactic#2: Help female members to figure out their weakness

In China, women tend to be more sensible and be entangled with the details, which will lead to that their decision-making is not timely. And most women are afraid of negotiations because of the influence of Chinese culture. What’s more, most of the female entrepreneurs are not good at refuting the conditions proposed by the partners. A female entrepreneur once said that the biggest gain of their own business 10 years is: You do not get what you deserve, but what you negotiate.

Tactic#3: Help female members to leverage their strength

Most of the women have good communication skills, and they are good at administrative management as well as process execution. What’s more, their social skills are often better than men. In the male society, women will stand out a little better, because it is easier for customers and partners to give high evaluation to them. Women in a vulnerable position are easier to get sympathy, which can obtain more supports. In addition, women are more serious and careful, and they are comprehensive in considering the issue. At the same time, female endurance is usually better than men. In the staff management, they tend to be more humane, with affinity, which makes them easier to win the trust of employees.

Tactic#4: Let female members write an innovation plan

The plan can be about their entrepreneur road in the future or can be about some ideas they find around them.

Strategy #2: Increasing Experiential Learning Opportunities

tactic#1: In-class Practice

We can make the form of the courses about innovation and entrepreneurship diversified. The courses should not only limited in the innovation and entrepreneurship knowledge but also conclude other areas such as the law support course.

tactic#2: On-campus Extracurricular Practice

We can help clubs that focus on innovation hold start-up weekends. Also, find a place in the campus to create a space for students. We can hold a business innovation salon per week to help students solve their practical problems. In addition, more labs are needed to let students test their ideas.

tactic#3: Local Off-campus Practice

Try to communicate with Hangzhou business incubators in order to provide internship opportunities for our students.

Strategy #3: Enhance Connection Between I&E Sources

Students lack opportunities to learn with the I&E in modern society, we are not fully aware of the social problems or the expedite proceedings of the society, we lack the instructions from firm and company mentors. For instance, business students are mostly learning basic theories without combining with the exact situations in companies which demand innovation and entrepreneurship. Besides, for architecture students, build a solid foundation is crucial, but they lack drawing while communicating with designers, students lack firm mentors.

We plan to make an organization connecting firm, company mentors, and students interested in innovation and entrepreneurship.We support the program with scholarship in order to stimulate both the mentors and students to cooperate with each other and award for the well-behaved ones.

Tactic#1: Set up an organization in Zhejiang University

By setting up a formal organization, we need to prepare lots of material, and hand in a planning scheme to illustrate our aims, participants, supporters, organizers, and activities. We will make use of the Zhejiang University Alumni Association and invite them to the project, in this way, we build our solid foundation and enrich our resources in order to attract students later on.

Tactic#2: Attract ZJU students to become a member of the organization

We do marketing strategy, introduce the organization to the colleges, and notice them by writing on the websites, we hold talks to reveal this innovation and entrepreneurship organization. Students who register it will be life-long members and we get them know each other and they get involved in running the organization like publishing magazines, do innovative works and so on to maintain a vigorous atmosphere.

Tactic#3: Set up mentor-student relationship by two-way selection

We provide mentors’ information and chance opportunities to the students, they are allowed to fully get to know them and choose the interested ones. Later on, we help mentors to hold interviews with the students and it’s up to mentors to select their ideal students which will follow them and learn from mentors.

Tactic#4: Get into the firms and companies right away to prompt innovation and entrepreneurship

Mentors let students learn the situation the running of their business, and figure out how to make innovation and entrepreneurship part of their company strategies, students are not only followers but also creativity supporters, students help with suggestions under the instructions of their mentors, it’s more than a usual internship which demands students’ critical and innovative thoughts and contributions. Students will actively keep pace with the rapid change of society and easily realize the key problems needed to be solved. These will definitely enhance their I&E spirit.

Strategy #4: Adjust Curriculum

In China, it is a must for university students to take a lot of low-quality courses each semester to meet the graduation credit requirement, which has adverse effects on students.

1. The requirements of these courses are low and cannot improve students’ relevant abilities, which is just a waste of time.

2. Too many courses mean that students have to spend considerable time on curriculum, as a result of which, they cannot have enough time to explore something they are passionate about.

As a result, it is common that a large number students lack critical thinking and innovative ability in China.

Tactic#1: Write letter to deans to promote education program reform

Conduct an investigation on students and find out problems of low-quality courses. Write a compelling letter to the deans of each department to inform them of some low-quality courses and persuade them to collaborate with faculty working out a more useful and meaningful educational program. They can integrate some related low-quality courses into one which requires a higher standard for students. For an organization to succeed, especially when it seeks to change, it needs support from the top of the organization. Probably the most important person who must believe in the compelling case you develop in Step One above is the President of your college or university.

Tactic#2: Set up an online platform for exchanging ideas

Set up an online platform for professors and some students to exchange their ideas on how to design more challenging and interesting assignments for students, in which way students can enhance their innovative ability instead of learning by rote. In most Chinese universities, some faculty is openly hostile to entrepreneurship and innovation, especially in some traditional majors. These faculties regard it as a set of stories that don’t match the rigorous traditional discipline-based courses.

Tactic#3: Take online courses and do some interesting research

Recommend each major students’ unions to promote more interesting online courses and other activities, e.g. organize students to visit labs regularly and have academic conversations with faculty. In an era of information explosion, Students should proactively utilize online high-quality courses to explore their interest and passion in their free time. It is also a must for professors to instruct students who are interested in further study in relevant fields. The summer or winter holiday is a proper time for them to do so.

Strategy #5: Make Events Influential

Now on our campus, there are plenty of events that are relevant to entrepreneurship. But to be honest, not many students are involved in these events. And some students think our events are not influential enough.

Tactic #1: Cooperate with Big Clubs

Our university has a variety of clubs from small to big. Sometimes small clubs hold events of high quality but involve few students due to lack of advertising. But for big clubs, they have more ways to spread advertisement. So, we will suggest clubs to cooperate, prepare for the events together and get more participants.

Tactic #2: Get Help from Big Companies

Some students think our events are not influential because they cannot learn much or get help. With the help of big companies, this situation can be developed. If companies can help students make future plans, offer more internship to them, students might be willing to involve. And we know that companies and school already have cooperation like scholarships. Maybe this kind of funding can also be used to award students do well in the events.

Tactic #3: Combine with Classes

Students take classes every day, if possible, professors can introduce more activities related to the classes. For example, the electronic design competition is related to our analogous circuit class and the event and class is a benefit to each other. For I&E programs, situations are similar. And classes can even be a part of the I&E program, the professor can invite people like entrepreneurs to the class. Most importantly, students should be allowed to have conversations with these entrepreneurs face to face.

Strategy #6 Fund, Fund, Fundamental Fund!

It is almost impossible to keep a campaign or an event going without sufficient money. So how do we get fund will be an essential step to make sure the event will take place successfully.

There are many ways to get funds, among which some of the most common and feasible ways are asking help from alumni, getting sponsorship from companies and asks students and faculties for donations.

Tactic #1: Get help from the alumni association

The help from alumni seems to be easy money. But it definitely does not mean an easy approach. It is true that most of our alumni have affection for our school, but considering the difficulties to get to them will blow your head.

But there is one way that might be an option. To seek help from the alumni association. Write to them or simply step into their headquarters and talk to them if you are brave enough. Mostly if you make your point clear, they will support you without further ado.

Tactic #2: Get sponsorship from companies

Get sponsorship from companies. This is the most common way of getting funds. But it also takes a lot of hard work. There are many technics while we are trying to get sponsorships from them. The core tech will be how to get to their extension division officer let alone those phone numbers you can find with google.

Tactic #3: Ask donations from students and faculties

Ask donations from students and faculties from your school. Every dollar from a single individual count! The thing is how do you get your project widely recognized! Try to spread your spirit of the project via social networks and set up donation programs to get your money!

Strategy #7 Improve I＆E Courses

Tactic #1: Pay more attention to practice

There are many courses related with I&E in the university. But we still lack practice. Students should not only be taught how to make innovations or establish their own entrepreneurship but also be given more opportunities to practice. For example, we can improve the courses by providing practice time every two weeks.

Tactic #2: Invite more distinguished guest to share experience

Those who have already made their way to innovations and entrepreneurships have quite a lot experience to share with students, for instance, famous alumni. By attending a sharing meeting or listening to lectures, students can get the firsthand information about the true I&E environment in the society. In this way, students can be more realistic about their projects, more enthusiastic about making their I&E, finally be better prepared to change the world.

Strategy #8 Provide phased guidance of I&E

Tactic #1: Help students take the first step

There are many I&E competitions and programs held every year, but a large portion of students have never participated in such kind of activities. Many of them don’t even know about these great opportunities that can develop interest and skills, let alone ever take a try. What they need is a little guidance to get started. We plan to invite previous successful participants to share experience and hold training sessions targeting at each specific events, in order to prepare more people for their first try of I&E events.

Tactic #2: Further support for potential candidates

The university should provide further support for people with motivation, passion and potential, for example, those who performed well in a I&E competition. These people should be gathered in in sharing sessions to exchange ideas, and they can attend salons with senior students who have already taken a further step (e.g. who has a patent for invention or started a business). This phase of guidance enables them to open up their mind, getting valuable experience from their peers and senior students, and get ready generate their own I&E blueprints.

Tactic #3: Enhance alumni-student link

Once students start their business following their blueprints, the next phase of guidance is to help them establish connection with relevant alumni who can provide funding and opportunities. These alumni, in turn, may seek partnership among these excellent students, so establishing such link is a win-win.

Strategy #9 Laboratory researches combined with I&E

Tactic #1: Different roles in the labs

That is, a small number of students are allowed to enter the laboratory for the purpose of I&E, and their research level and energy input are allowed to be relatively reduced, but there are additional research requirements and regular reports needed for the appraisals of the I&E.

Tactic #2: Encourage students to go into the enterprise

Provide lab students with more opportunities to communicate with the R&D department of the company, so that students can understand the current level of technology and industry needs in the market, and thus inspire their own research work, or find new research directions.

Tactic #3: Technology Entrepreneur Salon

Inviting technology entrepreneurs in the Zhejiang University to discuss the needs and trends of industry technology from the perspective of management and entrepreneurs, and inspire students to think about issues from different angles.

Strategy #10 Build a platform to break the information asymmetry in I&E in the campus

Tactic #1: Build a platform to collect & share information concerning I&E

In ZJU, a considerable number of activities concerning promoting participants’ innovation and creativity are held on annual base. But what really mattes for students is that they are not effectively connected and well understood the function and specific aim end of the activities or simply missed them. Thus a platform shall be build to break the as-symmetry between I&E activity organizer and students. What is more, the platform shall also collect examples and give more illustrations to convince students why they should take part in instead of just posting a piece of signing-up sheet on the website.

Tactic #2: Ideas-change platform & community-building

As showed in Tactic #1, I&E activity like I&E competition provides students with a platform to achieve their great ideas. But it is not available all the time. Thus we can have a platform which students can share their views and ideas on I&E and other creative activities, even organize activities themselves, thus building a community concerning I&E.

Tactic #3: Open the door of official to support to turn ideas into practice

As my teammates has shown in their ideas, a phased guidance of I&E will help students to connect their ideas to practice, an idea or technology may be discussed in the platform as I have mentioned. And if the participants consider their idea practical, the school office may open a door to them and asses the possibility of success. If they finds it also a great idea, they may provide necessary aid for students to make it real.

Priorities:Zhejiang University Student Priorities

Contents