Innovation

innovation-pillar-1

The Center for Innovation and Analytics is where faculty, students, alumni, and the business community can work together. They can bring new ideas and technology to create innovative concepts. Mentors assist students in framing and studying critical business issues to uncover, understand, and drive game-changing innovation and insight.

The goal is to be accessible to all students at Radford University. The Center includes faculty from all disciplines across campus who coach, mentor, guide, and challenge students. 

“The RU iLab creates a collaborative space for entrepreneurs and students to connect, an inviting space for students at all levels, and both the mechanism and platform for the development of credit-bearing activities that foster innovation and entrepreneurship.”6

The Center assists in the use of Davis College’s 3D printing capability to connect students with industry. Davis College’s 3D printers play an important role in a variety of ways at the Center, including providing students with valuable real-world experience and faculty with professional development and research opportunities.

The Center will Host:

The Annual Elevator Pitch Competition

The Annual Business Plan Competition

Innovation Speaker Series

The Center also provides a seminar series designed to train students, alumni, members of the local community, and business partners to systematically create commercially-viable innovative products, services, and business models. Cutting-edge workshops, seminars (face-to-face and on-line), and certificate programs in various aspects of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship are a few other benefits provided by the the Center to support DCOBE student learning outcomes12 in innovation.

BBA: Students are able to identify, apply, and interpret the results of innovative thinking to recommend action or guide decision-making that improves business performance. This Center will help accomplish this by offering an assortment of experiential and active learning opportunities designed to aid students in obtaining and refining the creativity and innovation skills.

MBA: In addition to the BBA learning outcomes, MBA Students are able to formulate, evaluate, and select innovative solutions to optimize business performance. The Center will also assist in placing students in internships and externships with innovative and entrepreneurial business professionals.