Phase II

The Garage Physics experiment suggests a more ambitious campus Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, focused on multidisciplinary project-oriented learning for UW-Madison undergraduate teams. The themes of the center include exploration and innovative thinking, engagement outside and beyond the university (the Wisconsin Idea), sustainability, and social entrepreneurship.

The center is envisioned to be a physical and virtual hub for project oriented student learning spanning the disciplines and schools of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The physical center itself will contain meeting and breakout rooms along the lines of WISCEL, and additional project workspaces, and tools. The virtual center will connect students to a network of facilities (e.g. student shops, media labs, WID rapid prototyping facility, art loft), resources (e.g. libraries, academic and career advising, international studies, UW Law, WARF, WEN), spaces (e,g, Hybrid Zone X, Physics Garage), and programs (e.g. UW Business School Certificate in Entrepreneurship, biomedical engineering, Entrepreneurial Residential Learning Community) with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Scaffolding will include an academic certificate program. It will capitalize upon and motivate FIGs and other small classes in discipline specific innovation (physics, art, business, computer science, biology, engineering...) and entrepreneurship and more general Great Ideas classes for first year students. The core of the program will include project development and project competitions for second and third year students. Capstone activities for fourth year students will include existing and new academic classes, independent research activity, and startups.

Interested? Email Carlsmith (duncan@hep.wisc.edu) your suggestions!

Students - how to participate

Please watch this video: http://vimeo.com/92977644. Become an innovation fellow.

Reading

2015 Whitehouse priorities

"Scientific discovery, technological breakthroughs, and innovation are the primary engines for expanding the frontiers ofhuman knowledge and are vital for responding to the challenges and opportunities ofthe 21st century. We look to scientific innovation to promote sustainable economic growth and job creation, improve the health of all Americans, move us toward a clean energy future, address global climate change, manage competing demands on environmental resources, and ensure the security of the Nation. Science and engineering research is a valuable source ofnew knowledge that has driven important developments in fields ranging from telecommunications to medicine, yielding high economic and social rates ofreturn and creating entirely new industries with highly-skilled, high-wage jobs." http://m.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2013/m-13-16.pdf

Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship WhitePaper

Model innovation centers

See Makerspace links.

Photo credit

The image shows the conceptual design for the NC State Entrepreneurship initiative/Entrepreneur's Garage. (http://ei.ncsu.edu/garage/)