Student Voices for Innovation: Cultivating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at IUPUI

I was appointed as a university faculty fellow from 2017–2019. One of my tasks was developing a project supporting the university initiative of cultivating a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship on the campus.

I perceived the fundamental need to develop a consensus on the meaning of innovation and entrepreneurship among IUPUI students and their needs. I created a research team that included Herron graduate students and the student organization Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship, Action (IDEA) Fellows to conduct this project. The aim was to present an integrated view of innovation on the IUPUI campus, bring the student perspective to the forefront of discussions that have been taking place among the faculty and administration, and, ultimately, set forth a plan to change University culture towards Innovation.

The result of the survey analysis was formatted as a report and distributed to the university administrators. The report provided the university administrators a strategic framework and a guideline to develop a robust student experience related to innovation and entrepreneurship. The University-Wide Minor in Innovation is one of the outcomes from this effort.

Role Design Research Lead
Date January — May 2018
Design Research Team
Maria Meschi, Herron Graduate Program in Design
Amadin Agho (alum), Marketing, IUPUI IDEAS Fellows
Ricky Anderson, Neuroscience & Biotechnology, IUPUI IDEAS Fellows
Brendan Bow, Human-Computer Interaction, IUPUI IDEAS Fellows
Stephen Hamori, Mechanical Engineering, IUPUI IDEAS Fellows
Pratik Rath, Mechanical Engineering, IUPUI IDEAS Fellows
Project partner Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research, Division of Undergraduate Education