idea institute

iDEA Institute

A CWRU initiative for change

Vision• Inspire and facilitate:– CWRU Students– CWRU Faculty– Outside Partners

• to Create great:– Products– Services

• and an Entrepreneurial Culture

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

• 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

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

New kinds of Events

Unconferences, Workshops

In depth work groups

New iDEAs formulated

Projects produced, Products shipped

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

On-line tools

• Social Network/Dashboard• Google Sites, Docs and Apps• Skype• Wiki• Open:– APIs (application programming interface)– Data– Source– Standards– Ideas

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

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

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

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