Katherine Olives
Although many consider City College to be a commuter campus, theres a lot that goes on outside of classes. From Greek life to quidditch, CCNY is home to many clubs and organizations that allow students to explore their passions outside of the classroom. Today, were highlighting one that is near and dear to our hearts, the University Innovation Fellows Program.
A few months ago, we announced that four City College students were named Innovation Fellows by Stanford Universitys d.school, as part of a global program that trains student leaders to create new opportunities for their peers to engage with innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking, and creativity.
The Zahn Center nominated the candidates over the summer, and the fellows went through 6 weeks of vigorous training before presenting their strategies to transform the City College campus into a place for students, faculty, and staff to turn their big ideas into realities. They hope to spark collaboration and foster a spirit of creativity and problem solving by connecting students to entrepreneurs, introducing students to design thinking, and increasing awareness about entrepreneurial events throughout the city. As part of their mission, theyd like to have an entrepreneur in residence at CCNY, incorporate design thinking into the campus curricula, and establish more targeted career fairs. You can learn more about their big goals here.
The City College community is excited to foster the University Innovation Fellows program. Interim President Vince Boudreau attended their pinning ceremony last month, where UI Fellows Chelsi Ampawa, Kurt Dawiec, and Mahmoud Khedr read their manifesto, a promise to be agents of change at City College. You can listen to this manifesto below.
To learn more about the University Innovation Fellows Program, visit http://universityinnovationfellows.org/