The iDEA Institute at Case Western Reserve University aims to inspire students and faculty to create products, services, and an entrepreneurial culture through three main initiatives:
1) Developing an entrepreneurial environment on campus where students can work on active projects, expand entrepreneurship education, and connect with successful entrepreneurs.
2) Providing online tools and virtual collaboration spaces to support teamwork across disciplines and ensure all students can participate.
3) Identifying promising student ideas and helping form teams to develop the ideas into projects, with the goal of shipping products and securing funding.
2. Vision Inspire and facilitate: CWRU Students CWRU Faculty Outside Partners to Create great: Products Services and an Entrepreneurial Culture
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4. Entrepreneurial environment Students involved in active projects Expand curriculum for entrepreneurial studies Create a semi-exclusive club – support network Produce bootcamps, unconferences, live events Provide access to experienced and successful entrepreneurs
5. On-line tools Virtual teamwork Peer review Leave no student behind Mentoring in many forms Nothing wrong with failure Culture of Innovation, Collaboration and Risk Taking
6. iDEA = the “NEW” CWRU iDEA = new ideas, networking activities, inter-disciplinary approach Put together deals and projects Produce live events – of all shapes and sizes Break down the fiefdom walls Use iDEA to differentiate
11. Integrated platform Synergistic approach to tools, collaboration and project management Virtual platform – can be accessed anywhere Connect disparate departments, institutions and partners with students Combine: Academic Business Social/Economic efforts
12. On-line tools Social Network/Dashboard Google Sites, Docs and Apps Skype Wiki Open: APIs (application programming interface) Data Source Standards Ideas
13. Put together Deals Work with high level professionals, designers Cherry pick best projects Put together team: Product Engineering Productization Marketing/Sales Project Management Leverage Tech Transfer Find funding Sell products and services
14. Identify low hanging fruit Many projects are ready to go: Medical New Materials Energy Job Creation Use seed money to get these projects going Get students involved Then find funding for each project Apply for Fed grants, based upon early successes
15. Develop Student projects Identify the best student iDEAs Put together deals by matching student interns to mentors and experts Get students assigned to projects, learn the ropes by assisting experts Students go through the entire productization process, learn by doing We help find funding for their projects
16. Schedule Q1 ’10 Form/Announce, initial events, recruit students, define the platform Put together first deals, first teams formed, on-line tools available Q2 ’10 First projects started, networking events produced, first success Large funding applied for, bigger deals put into place, Lab Director hired Q3 ’10 First projects shipped, more events, lab construction started Larger projects funded, second round of recruiting, refined tools Q4 ’10 Partners and deals announced, evidence of success, weekly events Program expands, open ‘sandbox’ lab, regional alliance forms Q1-Q2 ’11 Over 100+ student entrepreneurs, large projects start to ship On-going multiple projects, multiple alliances and partners Q3-Q4 ’11 iDEA Culture appears, CWRU becomes a place to come to invent things