ccelerate
Wentworth Innovation + Entrepreneurship Center
wit.edu/accelerate facebook.com/innovateatwit @WITXLR8 accelerate@wit.edu
CONTENTS
WHY INNOVATION + ENTREPRENEURSHIP? 1 The Challenge..........................................................................4 A Solution................................................................................ 6 Competencies vs. Knowledge.................................................. 8 2012 TESTING THE ENERGY 9 Pilot....................................................................................... 11 Underground Operation..........................................................13 Internal Traction......................................................................16 External Footprint....................................................................18 2013 MAKING WAVES 19 Establishing a Location........................................................... 21 Creating a Culture..................................................................23 Rebranding........................................................................... 25 Startup Challenge.................................................................. 27 Social Innovation Lab..........................................................29 College ThinkTank Boston + CityStart Boston..................31 Gaining Visibility..................................................................34 2014 STRATEGIC ANCHORING 35 Growth.................................................................................. 37 Building Communities + Support Network...............................40 Professionalizing the Organization........................................... 42 2015 TURNING INWARD 43 Recognizable Brand............................................................... 45 Competency Development.....................................................48
Concentric Circles..................................................................50 Applied Research.................................................................. 52 Maturing Teams..................................................................... 54 2016 BUILDING TOWARDS THE FUTURE 55 Accelerate Operation..............................................................57 Evolution Model..................................................................... 59 Academic Planning................................................................62 Transforming the Educational Experience................................ 63 Innovation + Experiential Learning...........................................66 TAKING STOCK 67 Organizations Engaged.......................................................... 69 Media Coverage.....................................................................71 Students Representing Accelerate Externally........................... 75 Awards + Recognitions........................................................ ..76 PROFILES | TEAMS + IDEAS
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SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB PROFILES 93 2014 - Franklin Park Zoo...................................................... ..95 2015 - WGBH..................................................................... ..97 2016 - Boston Children’s Museum....................................... ..99 2016 - The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.......................101 COLLEGE THINKTANK BOSTON 103 Partners...............................................................................105 BRANDING - IMPACTING CAMPUS CULTURE
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WHY INNOVATION + ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
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THE CHALLENGE
As we continue to prepare students for successful careers, we cannot ignore the massive disruption that industries continue to experience. Reinvention, change, and convergence are realities in today’s fast paced work environment. The future of work will require individuals to be able to reinvent themselves and their careers over and over again and competencies, not content, will drive those transformations. The way we educate has been iterated, but it has not changed significantly since the late1700s. Future scenarios such as demographic shifts, declining numbers of high-school students, changing attitudes towards college degrees, increased demand for customized learning experiences, and industry shifts will require a hard look at what it means to graduate top talent.
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A SOLUTION .............................................
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Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, feed him for a lifetime.
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-Proverb
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The focus on knowledge acquisition and traditional teaching methods dominates and forms the core of our educational systems. Students still passively receive information from the educator, who is mostly anchored in the center of the model. Learning is broken into distinct subjects and is memorized in case it is needed at a later point, sometimes even a couple of years later. Although reform educators such as Pestallozzi, Dewey, and Montessori have proven over and over again that learning happens at the intersection of disciplines and as part of experiential immersions, education as a system has not yet fully embraced this concept. Movements towards alternative schools have taken place, but they have not permeated the vast educational landscape. In 2012, Accelerate, Wentworth Innovation + Entrepreneurship Center, was formed as a catalyst for students to push their ideas outside of the classroom through interdisciplinary and experiential immersion. Theory is important, but learning by doing allows students to access knowledge at the time they need it to further their ideas, solve problems, and open new possibilities. Accelerate represents the antithesis of traditional education. It set out to build innovative thinking and entrepreneurial confidence among students.
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COMPETENCIES VS. KNOWLEDGE .................................................
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A business plan is a starting point, but meaningless, if you never have the confidence to act on it.
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Students today recognize that receiving a degree is not enough to have an edge. They intentionally seek experiences that set them apart. Accelerate provides Wentworth students with an outlet to do just that. First and foremost, Accelerate helps students develop competencies that will make them successful not only in their careers, but for their lives. These competencies benefit them if they become inventors, entrepreneurs and makers who launch their own businesses or individuals who define existing industries and causes. The following core competencies were developed in 2012 as the foundation of Accelerate. During an Institute-wide Academic Planning process in Spring 2016, these competencies were elevated to represent the campus-wide innovation agenda and to foster a vibrant innovation culture across curricular and co-curricular activities. EMPATHY understand and act on individual, community, and industry needs and wants INSPIRATION formulate strong conceptual thinking to create, interate and collaborate effectively DISCOVERY acquire new knowledge and resources, focus and diverge content to build capacity RESILIENCE essential for failure, risk-taking and adaptability PRESENCE gain confidence through networking and public pitch rounds 8
2012
TESTING THE ENERGY
PILOT
In 2010, we ran a Next Generation Study testing the attitudes and beliefs of Wentworth students. It surfaced that 21% of students are interested in working for themselves at some point over their careers. At the end of 2011, a white paper was submitted which outlined how innovation and entrepreneurship could be differentiators for Wentworth with the suggestion to launch a co-curricular initiative. The Administration gave the green light mid-April of 2012, and within only two weeks Accelerate was launched. The intent was to iterate throughout the summer semester and to actively solicit feedback from students and external professionals anchored within Boston’s innovation ecosystem. We also conducted an extensive competitor analysis. We reached out to nearly 50 other University programs and incubators to build relationships and learn from their pipeline and growth pattern. As a result, we continuously adjusted and refined Accelerate’s offerings based on student needs and what was congruent with Wentworth’s culture at the time. Accelerate became and still is a startup in and of itself – bootstrapped and lean.
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UNDERGROUND OPERATION
Launching Accelerate in such a short time frame and in an environment focused on teaching was challenging and exciting at the same time. It was necessary to mobilize and educate students regarding the possibility of innovation and entrepreneurship, and it was necessary to orchestrate significant buzz and energy across campus. A pervasive marketing campaign was launched, with red-orange branding everywhere – from dorms and student living spaces, classrooms, library, departmental offices to hallways, stairs, the quad, and bathrooms. As part of the campaigning strategy, we posted huge banners on the Willson building, painted the walkways, placed banners in windows across campus, and pushed campus rules. Over 50% of all offices on campus were instrumental in supporting “rule breaking” and “conspired” on this underground operation launching from 0 to 100 in very little time. We are grateful to all of them, but especially Physical Plant and Student Affairs. It wouldn’t have been possible without their flexibility and support. In addition, over 1,000 students were reached through class pitches in only four days. The pitches created an opportunity to introduce Accelerate, get students interested, and answer their questions.
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INTERNAL TRACTION
During the first semester, the goal was to attract 10 students to test Accelerate’s offerings. However, 70 students engaged, formed interdisciplinary teams, and submitted over 30 ideas. These ideas ranged from re-engineered pedicabs to waste management to a fashion app and hydroponic furniture. The very first Pitchfest was a huge success and five startup ideas received nearly $30,000 in funding. The pedicab team gained external traction as well. The idea was covered in the Boston Globe innovation section and picked up by the editorial page the same month, officially marking our launch into the Boston innovation ecosystem. It was the point of no return and the start of an unprecedented journey to highlight our students as makers and innovators. We succeeded in this goal, in the dense Boston higher education market, despite Wentworth being quite late to the innovation party.
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EXTERNAL FOOTPRINT
Accelerate was intentionally built to be externally focused. Students already have access to faculty members on campus. Providing co-curricular innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities was about opening our walls to the external world and connecting students with high profile individuals they otherwise would never have interacted with. It was risky to launch, build, and undertake internal and external promotion all at the same time. But given the talent that Wentworth is known to produce, taking the leap and trusting that our programming around innovation would be fruitful was critical. The Globe articles from August 2012 were only the beginning. Most impactful were the connections sourced from day one. We reached out to other universities and colleges, the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, other government organizations, startups and Fortune 500 companies, co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators, and organizations supporting innovation, design, and startups. These connections allowed Accelerate to build its brand and receive support and recognition from the innovation community.
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2013
MAKING WAVES
ESTABLISHING A LOCATION
In 2013, Accelerate moved into the vacated 2,500 square foot space in Willson Hall due to the move of chemistry labs to the newly opened Center for Sciences + Biomedical Engineering. Instead of a massive renovation, the space was simply cleared out of old lab equipment and minor updates took place. This enabled Accelerate to create an environment that looked vastly different than what students typically encounter and provided an opportunity to show personality and allow students to make the space their own. The three main areas are designated as Maker Space, Ideation Space, and Collaboration Hub. All of our signature events take place out of this space, reflecting our on-campus Maker Culture.
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CREATING A CULTURE
Now that we had cemented ourselves as a viable program, we had to further define our culture. We built a welcoming atmosphere, a microcosm, where students are encouraged to try and fail, where interactions with other disciplines are nurtured and where connection points to the external world are facilitated. In Accelerate students can access diverse perspectives, get inspiration, challenge their thinking, and create sparks through the emergence of ideas and inventions. Impactul learning happens when students feel tangibly connected to the problems they try to solve and are able to move the needle because they have engaged with an amazing mentor or listened to an inspirational speaker, or have discussions with a faculty member from another discipline. Not taking ourselves too seriously is a critical factor for staying curious and open minded. Our physical space and marketing efforts are reflective of this approach.
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REBRANDING
With Accelerate’s success we considered rebranding and creating an umbrella entity that could house multiple programs down the road. With much student input, the decision was made to change Accelerate, Wentworth Entrepreneurship Challenge to:
ACCELERATE WENTWORTH INNOVATION + ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER Students strongly wanted to continue with Accelerate as the lead brand. It had gained so much recognition on campus already that they felt another umbrella name would confuse our target audience. The rebranding resulted in new programmatic names:
Startup Challenge Social Innovation Lab College Think Tank As part of the rebranding, we introduced a light bulb as a key element for highlighting ideas. The lightbulb represents a playful element that can change depending on the program and event.
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The Startup Challenge, designed to be Accelerate’s signature program, provides an interdisciplinary co-curricular opportunity for students to build innovative thinking and entrepreneurial confidence through interdisciplinary teamwork. It provides students a platform for idea exploration, mentorship, networking opportunities, and it gives students permission to test an idea without fear of failure. This experiential learning impacts students’ success, reframes their role in companies, and provides a taste of startup culture. With a strong maker culture at play, our students’ ideas have ranged from re-engineering the pedicab experience, designing an infusion vest, longboards, and nailpolish organizers to concussion detection devices, medical vaporizers, speech recognition software, and games. No matter what the disciplines of the students are, we have seen a main focus on product creation and social impact. Generating ideas that matter and making them real has been close to our heart. We have cultivated this approach in our Maker Lab and by casting an extensive network of collaborators across the City and beyond to provide workshops and mentorship to the students.
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TAKE OFF
BUILD
DEVELOP
KICKSTART
CHALLENGE FORM YOUR IDEA
MEET ALUMNI or EXPERT FACULTY
RECRUIT YOUR INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM
CREATE BUSINESS PLAN
COMPETE + GET FUNDED
PRESENT TO THE COMMUNITY
PITCH YOUR VENTURE
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Attend Workshops by Alumni + VCs
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SUBMIT YOUR IDEA
Utilize Resources
* RECEIVE MENTORING from Entrepreneurs + build valuable networks
MORE LEARNING OUT IN THE WORLD
BUILD PROTOTYPE, PRODUCT, SERVICE
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Many students at Wentworth are interested in hearing about innovative thinking and gaining entrepreneurial confidence but have no interest in launching a startup. To reach these students, we developed the Social Innovation Lab and the College ThinkTank. The Social Innovation Lab was launched in 2013 so we could: 1) Attract a different type of student 2) Expand our network to external industry, non-profits and government organizations 3) Have real world impact The Social Innovation Lab [SIL] hired coop students for a 12 week immersion to generate ideas for a partner organization around a challenge they have. In the process up to 30 other organizations and individuals would be tapped to guide and support the students in this pursuit. The program follows the design thinking process and allows students to uncover the true need/gap, identify the problem, research + brainstorm, develop and prototype solutions. In 2013, students worked on issues alleviating homelessness, improving chemotherapy care, supporting visually impaired individuals, and improving institutional recycling. 29
Formal partners since 2013 include:
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COLLEGE
TH NK BOSTON TANK In the summer of 2013, the College ThinkTank was co-founded with the City of Boston. This event brought together 100 students from Boston area colleges and universities to ideate around a city based challenge. This was impactful for three reasons: 1) As an underdog in the innovation ecosystem, Wentworth took a big chance in co-leading this initiative. 2) This was the first ever event where Boston students worked across 20 disciplines, interacted with innovation firms, and had a civic impact. 3) We received brand recognition and positioning from the City, colleges/universities and organizations involved as well as from the larger innovation ecosystem. Over the years the College ThinkTank has evolved to CityStart Boston with an additional 3-week boot camp for teams to transform their ideas into viable businesses.
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“
............................................................... The College ThinkTank Boston was an amazing experience. It is easily the most valuable event for college students to get involved with in Boston. - Stefano Giuliani, BIND’13 ...............................................................
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GAINING VISIBILITY
The pedicab team certainly helped Accelerate become visible quickly in 2012. In 2013, Gentoo, a team which developed a chemotherapy infusion vest, was accepted into MassChallenge. This represented a major milestone considering that Accelerate was only around for two semesters at this point.
In addition, Accelerate was named one of BostInno’s 50 on Fire finalists in the education category alongside Harvard, MIT, Babson, Berkley College of Music, and Northeastern.
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2014
STRATEGIC ANCHORING
GROWTH
While “fostering a culture of innovation + creativity” was introduced in our five-year strategic plan in 2012, Accelerate propelled this focus further in 2014. In 2014, Wentworth introduced a new Institute-wide branding with five factors for career success. Innovation + Entrepreneurship was called out as one of these five factors despite being in existence at the institute for two years. The other four success factors - focused academics, cooperative learning, collaborations + partnerships and ideal location - are intertwined and amplified by Accelerate. Accelerate’s efforts have also inspired curricular changes such as the implementation of a common first year in engineering with a module on design thinking + innovation. Each semester Accelerate hires co-op students to support operations. Accelerate also builds relationships with startup companies hiring Wentworth co-ops. As a result, there is now a startup lane at the career fair to promote Boston’s vibrant startup community.
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Accelerate has made numerous external connections, which has positioned Wentworth as a viable player in the innovation and startup communities and has provided strong mentorships and networking to students. We have launched significant partnerships with key organizations in Boston to showcase our students and the education they receive at Wentworth. Accelerate continues to build on Wentworth history to support and strengthen Boston’s industry and communities through working with local organizations to impact our neighborhoods and keep talent in Massachusetts.
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[The Students] are absolutely gushing with ideas and new persective. They’re taking a broad approach [and] really getting the big picture. - John Linehan, President, Zoo New England ....................................................................................................................
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BUILDING COMMUNITIES + SUPPORT NETWORKS
In a short amount of time, Accelerate has proven to be a tremendous tool for alumni engagement and has brought back alums who haven’t set foot on Wentworth’s campus for decades. Showcasing our teams in the greater Boston innovation community has earned us a respected seat at the table. Organizations such as MIT Enterprise Forum invite us yearly to their student competitions. Mentors, who also support MIT, Harvard, Babson, MassChallenge, TechStars, several universities and other incubators, are regularly and unanimously impressed with the quality of our undergraduate student teams. We have enormous potential to capture different industry verticals and solve their problems in a horizontal, interdisciplinary way. Over the last two years, we have built support across a variety of neighborhoods and communities.
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PROFESSIONALIZING THE ORGANIZATION
Accelerate was launched and run by the Associate Vice President, Innovation + Entrepreneurship who also oversees the Center for Academic Excellence (formerly Learning Center). For the first 3 years, each semester one coop student was hired and onboarded to support Accelerate opperations. Faculty Ambassadors were added in 2013, who supported student teams once a semester for a mentoring event and/or office hours. In addition, external mentors were engaged on an as needed basis. Over two years, Accelerate moved from an ad hoc and iterative organization to a more deliberate operation. Every effort was made to capture processes and procedures for easy transition between coops and to assure consistency, replicability, and scalability. The approval of an Assistant Director for Accelerate in 2014 set us up with the first full-time employee for the Fall of 2015.
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2015
TURNING INWARD
RECOGNIZABLE BRAND
Accelerate expanded its footprint visually through regular, recognizable installations, such as the red chairs signaling the Hot Seat mentoring event and hammocks to promote pausing and taking a breath in favor of processing ideas and inspirations. This has resulted in Accelerate becoming a recognized brand on campus. Externally, student teams continued to make headlines, won competitions, shined at showcases, launched startups after graduation, and opted into first jobs in startups, small companies or innovative roles in larger organizations. Accelerate was once again named a finalist in BostInno’s 2015 “50 On Fire” education category and at this point we have been covered over 50 times in local media outlets.
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COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT
Accelerate’s core competencies: Empathy, Confidence, Resilience, Presence and Discovery took center stage in the Summer of 2015, when the Social Innovation Lab [SIL] worked with WGBH. The SIL fellows dove deep to develop these competencies and created short sequences and exercises to integrate in workshops or formal classroom settings. The intent of these activities was to nurture competencies in a way that could be easily realized by faculty or staff who aren’t deeply entrenched in innovation methodologies. This project inspired us to think of new ways we can support a culture of innovation on campus. One idea is to develop a set of activity cards and distribute them to all Wentworth faculty members as a way to incorporate quick activities over the course of a semester. These strategies will help build critical competencies as a way to support an innovation culture at Wentworth. We plan to build a foundation for idea generation and innovation over the course of a student’s academic and professional career. In addition, these competencies will be critical as we strengthen assessment and accreditation of co-curricular activities in the future.
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CONCENTRIC CIRCLES
Accelerate was launched directly for students - independent of coursework and curriculum. At the time this was the right decision based on Wentworth’s culture and academic structure. As students got excited and talked about Accelerate, faculty members started to become interested and opted in, participating as ambassadors, mentors, and connectors. The concentric circle approach worked and as a result, more faculty became interested in “HOW” exactly we get students to think innovatively and exercise entrepreneurial confidence. As a result, Accelerate launched INNOVATE! Immersions in the Fall of 2015. INNOVATE! Immersions are intense workshops teaching students different ways of thinking through innovation methodologies such as design thinking, lean startup, lego serious play, open source innovation and many others. Faculty members request an Accelerate liaison to take over one or multiple classes conducting INNOVATE! Immersions. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. It allowed us to access a broader audience than the students who already self-select to be part of Accelerate programs. It created an alternate recruiting platform, broke down the barriers for students without teams or defined ideas, democratized the playing field for idea generation and most significantly contributed to building a vibrant innovation culture on campus.
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APPLIED RESEARCH
Accelerate was the first entity on campus to recognize the potential for Applied Research. Historically, Wentworth has been a teaching institution. However, our student demographic has changed significantly in the past few years. Now more students are interested in moving directly into graduate school upon graduation. Being able to work side-by-side with a faculty member and adding research experience to their resume is a vital component of being accepted into graduate school. In the summer of 2015, Accelerate funded the first Innovation Fellow, a student conducting research with one of the Computer Science faculty members in Artificial Intelligence. Since then, Accelerate has supported additional students in their quest for research allowing them not only to advance science and technology under the guidance of experienced faculty members but also to present their findings within the research community at conferences and in papers.
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MATURING TEAMS
Over the last three years, teams have stayed with Accelerate, iterated, pivoted and improved. Teams realized that launching a startup with your roommates may not always work out. Teams acknowledged that leaving campus and engaging with the greater Boston ecosystem can yield serendipitous connections propelling their ideas forward. These teams have matured and new teams entering any of the Accelerate programs perceive the level of these teams as the new norm, which in turn causes them to work harder, increasing team and idea quality. We have also seen many first year students participate in Accelerate programming resulting in an increase in idea submissions and team retention. Overall our programming has become more differentiated to support new teams and more mature teams. Coaching, mentorship and programming for advanced/funded teams are centered on business development rather than idea generation. In addition, we encourage advanced teams to actively tap into Boston’s ecosystem and not rely solely on Accelerate resources and support. ....................................................................................................................
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I have participated in Accelerate for two semesters and have gained more knowledge in business practices than in the previous eight semesters of college combined. Accelerate has changed the way I approach problems and network with some of the top pioneers in the startup world. - Scott Bonney, BELM ‘14 ....................................................................................................................
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2016
BUILDING TOWARDS THE FUTURE
ACCELERATE OPERATIONS
Accelerate continues with extremely limited resources while internal and external growth and the need for professionalization continue to rise. In addition, pressures have increased to expand the innovation agenda across campus, an advisory council has been formed, and fundraising efforts are in seed stage. The team quality has increased significantly since modifications to the coaching model took place. In addition, an evolution model for our existing programming has been developed to illustrate the maturity of teams and the pipelining of talent based on the natural student lifecycle.
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INNOVATION | Accelerate + Cross-Departmental Activity 2025
SOCIAL INNOVATION LAB
12 week immersion with student teams and external partners to solve real world challenges and expand Wentworth’s footprint with organizations.
2020
Currently in summer semester, once a year. Opportunity to expand to each semester to build stronger pipeline of industry, non-profit partners and potential future revenue stream down the road.
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INNOVATION ACTIVITES ACROSS CAMPUS
BUILDING INNOVATION CULTURE [started Spring 2016]
Starting Fall 2016 - opportunities for more students to engage with Innovation Activity through curricular and co-curricular activities, e.g. certificate, idea challenges.
Result of Academic Planning: Bring Accelerate, EPIC, CLP, Applied Research close together to build strong internal innovation capability and ecosystem.
INNOVATION METHODOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM [since Fall 2015]
This will nurture a stronger level of engagement for companies, non-profits, governmental entities and provide better chances of funding within 5-10 years.
Design challenges in engineering, business, technology, architecture, humanities, social sciences classrooms to get students engaged and activated.
2016* 2015 2014 2013 2012
COLLEGE THINK TANK | CITYSTART
Partnership with City from 2013-2015 gave us strong headstart and visibility as viable player in startup and innovation communities in Boston.
Position Wentworth not only as building strong talent through coop/academics, but buildiing innovative and entrepreneurial talent through strong innovation activity.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP | Startup Challenge Evolution 2030
2020
FOUNDERS LAB
Learning Opportunity Every student can participate.
Turning an idea into a viable business, team, strategy.
Students attend bootcamps, workshops, office hours in business planning, IP etc, receive coaching and mentoring, prototype, and opportunity to pitch for gap funding.
Top teams apply for acceptance into the Startup Challenge. Committee makes recommendations on team acceptance.
Interdisciplinary teams may form and are being assessed based on criteria for team readiness and idea quality.
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STARTUP CHALLENGE
Students receive customized, high level of mentorship and office hours, targeted programming, and external visibility.
Teams may apply to Startup Challenge.
ALUMNI BRIDGE
Wentworth explores a bridge year for high potential alumni startups in a co-working/maker space in Boston to encourage them to continue working on their startup after graduation or develops alternate option for supporting high promising teams. ALUMNI COLLABORATIVE
Alumni supporting Alumni Alumni startup teams receive support, mentorship, and networking opportunities as well as investment funding from fellow alums.
STARTUP CHALLENGE
2016
Students form interdisciplinary teams and nurture an idea they are passionate about.
EVOLUTION MODEL
2015
They attend bootcamps, workshops, office hours, receive coaching and mentoring, prototype, and pitch for potential gap funding.
* Pivotal Point - Proven that Wentworth can be a player in innovation, it’s important to nurture and build strong internal innovation culture and ecosystem, which will improve quality of students across the institute and encourage more students to seek co-curricular opportunities. This activity, in turn, will increase external visibility and shift Wentworth’s positioning to strong academics, coop, and innovation. Limiting factors:
2014 2013 2012
Size of student body, undergraduate level focus on teaching not research, innovation activity in co-curricular + EPIC courses, high potential because pieces are there, big push forward happened in last four years and requires further orchestration. 60
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ACADEMIC PLANNING
Vision 2030 emerged based on Accelerate’s success over the past four years and was propelled by the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the external community, as well as by the internal readiness of curricular and co-curricular initiatives. An initial concept graphic was developed by the AVP, Innovation + Entrepreneurship and shared with the Provost. At the end of 2015, the first version of a vision map was presented to the Board of Trustees, telling the story of our current strategy map and how it can and should evolve. In the Spring of 2016, an extensive Academic Planning process involving over 40 stakeholders from Administration, Faculty, and Staff came together to formulate the next five years and beyond. As a result of this process, Vision 2030 was supported and an Innovation + Experiential Learning council formed to map out further details and start the implementation.
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TRANSFORMING THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Catalyzing Innovation Activity, Acting on Innovation
CENTER FOR COMMUNITY + LEARNING PARTNERSHIPS College Access, Community Impact + Service Innovation
APPLIED RESEARCH
Focused Innovation Activity
- [Social} Innovation Lab - Startup Challenge - Innovate! Innovation methodologies in classes - Civic Innovation w/ City - College Access / Dual Enrollment / Intro STEM + RAMP - Community Work Study - Co-Build | Community Building Project - Alternative Spring Beak - Innovation Fellows w/ Accelerate - Increase discipline’s body of knowledge / grants / publications - Prepares students for graduate school
EPIC OFFICE
- Facilitate collaboration between faculty, administration + outside world - Active student learning - Faculty grants
FACULTY INNOVATION
- [Learning] technology integration - Integration of trends within disciplines - Risk taking + experimenting with pedagogy and methodology
Curricular Opportunities for Student Immersion
Disciplined Focused Innovation + Experiential Learning
Pipeline to advanced and added value EPIC impact
COOP
Real World Experience
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Each Major Embraces E/P and/or I
Impacting Curricula through insights + learning
- Employer sourcing, coop evaluations, resume support - Broaden coop options to include Innovation, Startup, Community
Impact on undergraduate, graduate and online programs - Inventory of existing activity - Working towards departmental goals - Determining infrastructural needs
IEL AS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
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ACCELERATE, INNOVATION + ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER
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- Increased external visibility
- Increased external funding sources
- Significant driver of student engagement
- Impact on WIT perception
- Increased individual philanthropic giving
- Contribution to increased permeability across departments
- Unified messaging for integrated brand strategy - Active contribution to industry trends + research
- Corporate engagement - Contribution to added educational value + retention
- Competitions, events - Publications + White Papers
- Increased attractiveness leads to increased enrollments - Driving facilities infrastructure - Establishing + Refining internal infrastructure, e.g. DTS - Exploration of additional revenue streams, e.g. CPCE, graduate programs - Smart resource allocation for sustainability + operational effectiveness
- Increased faculty/staff opportunities, development, retention - High attraction value for students, faculty, staff - Significant driver of alumni engagment as active contributors to shape programming - Embracing diverse team constellations - Inclusive + democratizing engagement opportunities
INNOVATION + EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Transforming the educational experience is at the core of how Wentworth delivers focused academics, coop, innovation + entrepreneurship, collaborations + partnerships.
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INNOVATION + EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING (IEL) 
Wentworth is small, and each department operates with limited resources. As a way to unify our internal and external messaging, build internal infrastructure, and leverage scarce resources, four areas committed to build an alliance and act as a catalyst to impact a campus-wide innovative culture.
Accelerate [co-curricular] Applied Research [co-curricular and down the road curricular] Center for Community and Learning Partnerships [co-curricular] EPIC Externally Collaborative, Project Based, Interdisciplinary Culture [curricular] These four areas cover curricular and co-curricular activities building a tremendous synergy to impact the student lifecycle and deliver in innovation, entrepreneurship, applied research, service learning and innovation in teaching. Looking foward, the vision is that IEL will provide a unique proposition and competitive advantage for Wentworth, taking already existing departments/ areas, and aligning them for maximum impact. In turn this will expand our external positioning with industry partners and ultimately open up additional revenue streams.
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Taking Stock 67
5000+ 1000+ 695+ 227k+ 58 351 160+ 68 45 23 200+ 50+ 16 8 23
Participants across all Accelerate programs Students on interdisciplinary teams Ideas generated Funding Teams funded Students reached through INNOVATE! sessions Workshops + events conducted Workstudy students worked with Accelerate Coops worked with Accelerate Social Innovation Fellows Alumni/Professionals of Boston’s Ecosystem Mentors engaged Faculty ambassadors Innovators-in-Residence Hammocks across campus
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ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGED [SELECTED LIST]
Office of Business Development City of Boston
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We rhOuse eMaking POEntrepreneurship Easier
Mass Innovation Nights
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MEDIA COVERAGE
Accelerate has been covered over 80 times in local media since May 2012.
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STUDENTS REPRESENTING ACCELERATE EXTERNALLY
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AWARDS + RECOGNITIONS 2014
2016 MEMBERS
ARD HOICE AW C E E Y O L EMP
2013 SEMI-FINALIST
2014 FINALIST
2014 PARTICIPANT
3rd place ‘14 2nd place ‘15
2013 + 2015 FINALIST
2016 WINNER 76
Team/ Idea Profiles
PROFILES
Teams + Ideas p15 77
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Deven Hansen (BSEN ‘16), Emily Dillon (BSEN ’16 /Minor in BSM), Scott Houtchens (BSEN ‘16 / Minor in BCOS) Mass Transit wash monitoring device.
Greg Affsa (BIND ’15), Ben Nadeau (BELM ‘13) Providing Freedom and Mobility for Outpatient Infusion Treatments
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Tyler Nelson (BIND ’17), Dakota Baird (BIND ’17), Julie Marquis (MGD ’16), Scott Oullette (BELM ’17), Justin Voytek (BIND ’16), Katelyn Jobes (BELM ’18) An innovative cycling safety light designed to better define the space of the rider.
Alex Stokes (BCOS ’16), Pat Hanley (BIND ’16) The revolutionary online music sample store for musicians with a built in audio sequencer/drum machine.
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Alex Schwarzkopf (BELM ‘14), Sean Iacobone (BELM ‘14), Matthew Joyal (BELM ‘14) Prediction and prevention of damage to construction sites through on-site sensors.
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Accelerate was the turning point of changing my mindset from deeply engineering and detail oriented to becoming more business and customer focused. - Sean Iacobone, Pillar (BELM ‘14)
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Eric Crouch (BMET ‘12), John Pelkey (BIND ‘12) Pelkey Design aims to redesign the cycle rickshaw. We re-engineered the pedicab from the ground up with cutting-edge elements and strict adhesion to ergonomic standards.
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Brianna Lee (BSME ’16), Pam Mudge (BSEN ’16) Evan Allwarden (BSME ’16) Paul Blanco (BSME’16) Myotherm is an electrically heated foam roller that expedites the athlete’s rehabilitation process by combining the benefits of myofacial release and heat therapy.
Christian Roidt (BSA ‘19), Maarouf Barry (BCM ‘19) Chris Carrigan Brolla (External) A variable concrete casting form to produce organic shapes in concrete construction.
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Working with a group of people as a team leader, I’m experiencing that the success of an idea depends so much on the infrastructure and culture that gets built around the team. - Christian Roidt, Varimold (BSA ‘19)
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Huma Abdul Rauf (BBME ‘15), Vian Khalaf (BBME ‘15), Makeda Stephenson (BBME ‘15), Chris Jobity (Graphics), Enri Cobani (BSEE ‘15), Idriss Slaoui (BBME ‘15) Blind Sight is a device that will provide visually impaired people more access and safety through audio signal technology.
Dillon Forzese (BEET ‘15), Eric Nolet (BCOS ‘15) Jimmy is a portable speaker backpack who brings people together using music.
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Tristen Cary (BSM ’16), Andrew Amorelli (BCOS ’16), Neil Hanlon (BCOS ’17), Anthony Amorelli Close Friends matches you with people in your area and allows you to immediately video chat with them.
Lisa Piccirillo (BIND ‘13), Mirela Baric (BIND ‘13), Jeromy Lyman (BME ‘14) Making women’s lacrosse safer and providing an option to wear helmets and avoiding serious accidents
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Ben Sewards (BCOS ‘14), Ralph Giangregorio (BCOS ‘13), Chou Yang (BCOS ‘14), Chris Streeks (BSCN ‘14) FindMe University is a real time geo-location mobile app that utilizes discovery and curiosity through tagging other college students in your area. Open your university doors and build your own campus!
Stephanie Nannariello (BIND ‘14), Deborah Massaro (BSA ‘14) With our design, nail polish is easy to store and find in our space saving and decorative cosmetic organizer.
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Danielle Candido (BSCO ’17), Jordan Carter (BSCO ’17), Mogahid Fadl (BSIS ’19), Dominic Laudate (BCOS ’17), Bertrand Saint-Preux ( BCOS ’19) medli is an application and device that allows you to increase the amount of people sharing and playing music at a get together, party, or anywhere music is heard.
Matt Shrago (BCOS ‘14), Robert Moss (BCOS ‘14), Eric Warncke (Johnson and Wales University - Graphic Design) Awesome Products (AP) is a start-up software company located in Cambridge, MA. The company plans to build a strong market position by offering a simple music making tool, allowing musicians and non-musicians alike to easily make and share songs without any musical knowledge or experience required. 86
Kyle Colon, (West Roxbury HS ‘17), Paul Joseph (UMass Amherst ‘20), Devante Mathurin (Bunker Hill CC ‘19), Christopher Michel (BCOS ‘16), Robert Simon Jr (UMass Dartmouth ‘20) OCC Youth Unleashed is a non-profit organization who strives to increase youth engagement in community centers as well as child oriented programs across Boston.
Ethan Arrowood (BCOS ‘20), Sophia Seltenreich (BSM ‘20) Arrowood Registration Software is a cloud-based, dynamic web application that streamlines the registration process and provides access to endless data management potential.
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Ken Bousquet (BSM ’15), Matt Michaud (BCOS ’15) Taylor Rosenblum (BSME ’15) Ben Greenier (BCOS ’15) Partify is a hardware component and software platform for crowdsourcing music at a party, bar, or social event.
Jace Valls (BMED ’17), Luis Mata (BMED ’17), Adam Zapotok (BIND ’17) A revolutionary aquatic therapy device.
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It means allot to have a community that supports and is willing to help me push my ideas further. - Adam Zapotok, BARS (BIND ‘17)
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Scott Bonney (BELM ‘14), Doug Benson (Umass Lowell - Finance ‘15) We believe what’s good for the hive is good for the planet.
Erik Shaw (BELM ’16), Kevin Ung (BELM ’16), Pablo Vasquez (BELM ’16), Rio Kondo (BELM ’16), Bryan Yergeau (BCOS ’16), Zach Farrer (BCOS ’16), Jack Baker (BCOS ’16), Evan Fagerberg (BCOS ’16), Matt Harrison (BIND ’17) A walker with camera and sensors to assist in gait training physical therapy.
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Haiden Goggin (BIND ‘14), Tony Travaglini (BIND ‘14), Param Pabla (BEME ‘14) VUE vapes focuses on re-interpreting the use of medical cannabis in our modern society all through the use of durable materials.
Brian Pu Ruiz Co.
Brian Pu Ruiz (BSFM ‘18), Suzanna Andersons (BSME ‘17), Bailey Avila (BSME ‘18), Bethany Frohofer (BBME ‘17) Affordable, stylish fasion accessories inspired by Guatemalan culture.
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Organic Connections Sean MacNab (BIND ‘17), Nick Difabio (BSME ‘16) A modular construction toy.
Scott Bonney (BELM ’14), Brandon Dryer (BELM ’14), Dan Zaleski (BSCO ‘15), Danielle Harrod (BIND ‘16), Ancel Hernandez (BCOT ‘16), Kaycee Ndukwe (BBME ‘15) NOEX is working to change the world of physical therapy by creating a wearable device that will provide physical therapy patients with immediate feedback and data on their progress and form.
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Chris Auld (BBME ’16), Kevin Babineau (BBME ’16), Nick Poplar (BBME ’16), Jorge Reyes (BBME ’16), Ben Waltuch (BELM ’16) The ESI Catheter port is a simple solution designed to increase stabilization comfort and ease in the patient’s daily life.
Ciro Podany (BSA ‘14), Tory Lam (BSA ‘14), Nick Strout (BSA ‘14), Derek Bisson (BSA ‘14), Walmen Dumaliang (BIND ‘15) CareEz is a carrying device that makes transporting large pieces of chipboard, cardboard, canvas or any other art supply extremely easy
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Accelerate provided our team with a super energized platform of inspiration, both practically and creatively. - Ciro Podany, Carez (BSA ‘14)
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Social Innovation Lab Projects 93
The Social Innovation Lab is a 12 week, interdisciplinary and immersive experience encouraging our students, known as SIL Fellows, to create innovations that matter, solving real-world challenges and working in high-intensity environments. Fellows partner with an external orginization to address a challenge they are facing and connect with over thirty external thought partners and organizations, learn about their subject matter expertise and transfer it to the SIL challenge. SIL fellows are also exposed to innovation methodologies and different processes such as design thinking to generate more systemic, sustainable, and meaningful solutions.
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2014 - Franklin Park Zoo One doesn’t get to be in the presence of a giant anteater or a Western lowland gorilla everyday. At the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston Mass, patrons gravitate to these exotic animals, hoping for a glimpse of earth’s magnificent creatures in all of their glory… only to be disappointed to find a curled up ball of fur sleeping the day away. In the summer of 2014, the Social Innovation Lab was given the opportunity to explore innovative ways of capturing these wild zoo animals so vistors could have more interactive experience with the exhibits. One group, dedicated to the anteater, created a device to compact soil, mimicking a termite mound for it to tear apart while the gorilla group created a food launcher so visitors could directly engage with the animals.
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2015 - WGBH In the summer of 2015, the Social Innovation Lab partnered up with WGBH Educational Foundation and their Design Squad Global Initiative, which focuses on empowering middle school students to solve real world problems on a global scale. Our six undergraduate students researched and designed a competency based framework that promotes innovative thinking and entrepreneurial confidence in the form of a hands-on activity utilized in out-of-school programs across the U.S. and the globe.
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2016 - Boston Children’s Museum Capturing the Spirit of Play According to Albert Einstein “playing is the highest form of research”. In 2016 the SIL team explored the need for unstructured play time for children + adults and the impact it has on the development of critical interpersonal skills, creativity, and innovative thinking. Together with the Museum and other organizations, the SIL fellows developed a portable kit that could be brought to new communities, used in workshops (even companies) and leveraged to spread the benefits of creative play to a diverse population.
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2016 - The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development Reinvigorating the Spirit of Manufacturing With Massachusetts expanding its leadership position in the innovation economy, manufacturing companies are seeking well-prepared and diverse talent. As these companies continue to develop innovative production methods for advanced technology products, there is a demand for a new kind of workforce to help drive the economy into the 21st century. The SIL team proposed ideas for manufacturing companies to open up a conversation with young talent, develop career pathways, and attract talent to their industry.
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College ThinkTank Boston 103
With the challenge to generate ideas that represent the community and shape Boston’s neighborhoods, over 200 students from schools including Wentworth, Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Northeastern, Boston College, Boston Architectural College, UMass Boston, Babson, Emmanuel, and Suffolk, participated in Boston’s College ThinkTanks in 2013 and 2014. A wide range of majors, including engineering, architecture, design, business, music, health science, humanities, art, social sciences, medicine, law, theology, computer science, mathematics, life science, and public service, gathered at the MassChallenge space in the Innovation District.
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PARTNERS
Working side by side with Boston’s Office of Business Development, the following challenges were posed:
- Filling vacant storefronts - Crowdfunding for small businesses - Expanding Innovation to Boston Neighborhoods
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BRANDING - IMPACTING CAMPUS CULTURE Over the years we have expanded our branding across campus to draw people into Accelerate, to show them that inspiration, solving problems, and changing the world is fun with our motto:
Make something great – because you can!
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