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| UVIDEA club members present UVI's new 3D Printer |
This spring, the University of
the Virgin Islands made history with its first open house to showcase state of
the art Innovation Centers. Outfitted
with computers, work tables, white boards and a 3-D printer – from which actual
models or product prototypes can be digitally rendered out of biodegradable
plastic – the newly established centers are located on the St. Thomas Campus
and on the Albert A. Sheen campus on St. Croix.
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| UVI President David Hall addresses students, faculty and partners at the official opening of UVI's innovation center |
UVI President David Hall
referred to the centers as “maker spaces” in which students will be encouraged
to gather, brainstorm, and channel their classroom knowledge into creative
endeavors with entrepreneurial potential.
“So many of the technological innovations
we now take for granted were developed by real people in garages and basements
and back rooms throughout the territory and the country,” says Dr. Hall. “When you’re using something like a mobile
phone app, it’s easy to forget that somebody actually thought about this. Somebody put their energy into solving all of
the problems that needed to be solved in order to make this application
available and convenient to use. We want
that same energy to exist here at UVI. Our hope is that we will soon outgrow
this innovation space and have to expand.”
“The Innovation Center is going to be a place where students can let their creative juices flow and know that others are there for the same reason,” says UVI Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Camille McKayle. “It was gratifying to see the turnout at the opening and the sparkle in the eyes of those in attendance,” she said at the open house. “Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Association (UVIDEA) is a growing student organization, and I am sure they will consider this their new home.”
“Investing in the progression of innovative
ideas from our students will only return positive results for the university
and the community as a whole,” says Daricia Wilkinson, UVIDEA club member. She feels confident that the center will
appeal to a growing number of young people as the semester unfolds. “The launch
of the Innovation Center signifies the start of a new era in which Virgin
Islanders will no longer be just the consumers of technological and innovative
products, but also the creators.”
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| Leon Hughes (left) and Tim Faley (right) admire 3D printer objects |
Dr. Tim Faley, distinguished professor
of Entrepreneurship and Special Assistant to the President, saw no reason why
UVI should not join Stanford, MIT, the University of Michigan and other
institutions that have already established thriving innovation centers. “The
next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs are going to need both knowledge
and know-how,” says Faley. “Knowledge can be transferred in a course setting,
but developing know-how often requires hands-on experience. That experience can
be acquired in experiential learning programs.”
The first such program emerged in
the form of a $5 million grant from Kiril Sokoloff, the founder of the Research
and Technology Park company, 13D Research (USVI) LLC. The grant established a robust, cross-campus
entrepreneurship and innovation initiative at UVI. Under this initiative, the 13D
Entrepreneurship Competition was created, in which any student who is enrolled
in the university – though not necessarily full-time – can compete to win
$10,000, $20,000 or $30,000 in start-up capital for his or her business
proposal.
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| Objects rendered from 3D printer |
Another business collaboration
that is fostering innovation initiatives at UVI involves Leon Hughes, founder
of the St. Croix-based software technology company Nearix. He believes that Hackathons – weekend-long
events in which students work around the clock to find technology-based
solutions to real-world problems, mostly in the form of website development or
mobile phone apps – will help to promote a culture of creative problem solving
among young people in the territory. Hughes
began to sponsor hackathons on both campuses in 2015. Cash prizes totaling $900 have been awarded
for the best hack, the most innovative hack, the most impactful hack and the
most sustainability focused hack.
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| A look inside the new Innovation Center on the Sheen Campus . |
