Where Can Your Students Go Innovate? Map It Out for Them!

An insider’s guide to community resources, written by-students for-students

By Charles M. Wood, Ph.D.; Professor of Marketing, The University of Tulsa; Faculty Innovation Fellows Candidate

Twenty Faculty Innovation Fellows candidates from around the world were recently challenged by the University Innovation Fellows program to design and implement projects that would enhance the culture of innovation in universities. As part of this cohort and follow-up meetings, I saw all of us go in twenty different creative directions! However, we all started at the same place — step #1 in the design thinking process: “Gain empathy for the people you are trying to serve.” The interviews and discussions with students at my school helped me discover that many didn’t really get to know the surrounding community until their junior or senior year. And what’s more, hardly any were aware of the many great resources available — on-campus and off-campus — to help students make their innovative ideas a reality. This was the gap I set out to fill.

Think about it — college is really a giant safety net for students. It is the ideal time to give birth to new ideas and to try them out to see if they work. Lots of tremendous ideas have been developed by college students. However, most students simply don’t realize they are surrounded by mentors and resources (disguised as faculty, staff, and community members), nor do they realize there are few negative consequences if their ideas don’t pan out as planned. After percolating on this question, an idea emerged to create a “by students — for students” solution. I asked upperclassmen what they considered to be the best innovation and entrepreneurship resources in the local community, and other insider information regarding the best coffee shops to study in, best concert venues, cheap eats, and great city parks to blow off steam. This idea gave birth to the “Where 2 Go Innovate Map.” We simply put these locations on an easy-to-use map of the city along with brief descriptions and tips regarding each place.

In a later iteration of a prototype map, we also asked for input from university staff and faculty, who know more of the “hidden gems” in the community. We made sure to highlight and describe the local makerspaces, co-working spaces, incubators, startup advisory groups, entrepreneurship workshops, and other resources to encourage students of all majors to explore their city and get involved with the local innovation ecosystem. I&E starting points included how to get a guided tour of the Makerspaces and co-working spaces, and the city’s regular workshops and networking events such as One Million Cups. An old-school fold up travel map format was employed to fit in students’ back pockets easily.

During feedback sessions, the other Faculty Innovation Fellows encouraged me to also develop a Google Map version so students could click on the most interesting locations and get driving directions. Great idea! We intend to give copies of these full-color maps to incoming freshmen as a gift from the university’s upperclassmen, and a QR code will take them to the Google Map version.

In addition to benefiting college students, the Map also helps I&E-related organizations in the local community, recent startup firms, local businesses and non-profits, and the university’s offices in charge of recruiting and new student orientation. Every university can enjoy the benefits of a project like this and encourage their students to explore local I&E resources and foster a culture of innovation.

So far, this idea has received a strong positive response, from university administration to current and incoming students. I hope to refine the idea further by developing a complete, step-by-step guide with worksheets so others can learn how to help their students enjoy the safety net of college and be called “innovators” while still in school. So let’s map it out for them!

Courtesy of Charles Wood