Innovation Center
Innovation Center
University of Illinois at Chicago
Innovation demands an all-in, creativethinking, analog, and hardworking approach. Creating something new, novel, and needed often requires working out of your comfort zone.
This is the core of what we do:
Through sponsored classes and labs we innovate and educate. Student cohorts learn through hands-on practice with corporate and university partners.
Learning is accomplished by doing. Students practice their skills in an educational hybrid: the exploratory setting of a classroom with the real-world experience of working with a corporate sponsor.
Innovation is not invention. We define innovation as bringing together existing technologies in novel ways, to support unmet needs. Innovation is applied and solves problems.
We think big.
We focus on the bigger picture, knowing that many problems we tackle may not be solved in the near future. Looking at systems, services, and stakeholders steer us in the right direction.
We don’t make assumptions.
We strive to deeply understand users through observations, interviews, and immersive research.
Observations are not insights. An insight is not an easy thing to find. Observing and understanding people, combined with practice and intuition, leads to recognizing actionable insights.
People care about stuff— ask them. Everyone is interesting, and has something to teach. We pay attention, ask the right questions, and allow them to share their expertise and their passion.
Innovation is extraordinarily non-linear. The innovation process may appear very step-by-step. In reality, it’s a gritty, ambiguous, leap-of-faith activity. The process of innovation leads one to unexpected places, and yields unanticipated results.
Design Thinking: Diverging to include a broad range of ideas, and converging to hone in on the best insight or idea to move forward into the next phase.
Problem
Research
Analysis
Ideation & Conc
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Multiple concepts and approaches
Problem
Research Analysis Synthesis
Ideation Novelty Check Validation
Storytelling ept Development
Prototyping
Testing
Integration
Multiple types of protypes and testing
Solution
Development Building Testing
We all think differently.
Though it can be challenging, working with an interdisciplinary team allows us to approach the same problem from different perspectives, which is essential to understanding a project holistically.
We make it until we get it right. Innovation is iterative–we learn by making and testing, and then making again. Creating something new and fully developed requires a series of efforts over time.
Embracing change is an aquired skill. It’s uncomfortable. It’s challenging. It makes us think.
Ambiguity is a given.
Our work rewards those who are able to perform well with unknown endpoints. The problems we address have not been solved before, and have no known answers.
Tell a compelling story. Distilling extensive research into a clear, concise story delivered with passion and empathy is an art form.
The point is to create value. The work, the effort, and the innovation must be meaningful to make something better than it was before.
Work with us.
A good partner for us is someone who needs fresh thinking, who likes to experiment, who has an open mind, who works well with students, and has high expectations.
1240 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607 UICInnovationCenter@uic.edu www.innovationcenter.uic.edu