This workshop is focused on building a product that solves a problem; it is not focused on building a business that is viable and long-term fundable.

Throughout the workshop we will discuss and utilize academic articles, multimedia materials, and a variety of resources to guide you along your first foray into invention and innovation. We will also invite guest speakers into the workshop to discuss their entrepreneurial journey as well as their perspectives on creation, prototyping, and manufacturing. 

Assignments will serve as a roadmap in order to guide you through your capstone project. Students will work individually or in pairs throughout the semester, focusing on developing a product, testing the product through focus groups, using data to adjust and change the product, and learning the core skills needed to communicate the value proposition of their ideas. Students will create plans that combine basic elements of entrepreneurship with a proposal for innovation. For the final exam, students will present their inventions to the group and the top project will be nominated as a finalist for the Summit Innovation Challenge 2025.

Students should be prepared to think critically about problems in their lives in order to ultimately invent a solution to that problem. Once groups are determined, the group will decide on the problem/invention that they will develop throughout the workshop.  The workshop is intended for students of any academic major who would like to develop their skills as a beginner or even a brand new entrepreneur. 

Capstone Presentation:

You will work on a group project throughout the workshop. Each student or group of two will identify a problem that they wish to solve during the brainstorming and ideation phase of the workshop, and work on this as a group project throughout the semester with the ultimate goal of presenting a first stage, viable invention concept. Students can bring any ideas they have to the workshop as we learn ideation skills, and all ideas will be pitched, discussed, and reviewed. Students will be expected to progress their invention using core milestones as a scaffold throughout the rest of the semester and pitch the fleshed-out project at the end of the workshop during Finals week. Students will have the opportunity to move forward to the Summit Innovation Challenge 2025, presenting their idea to a panel of experienced entrepreneurs and content area experts. Emphasis will be placed on the process of ideation and incremental growth throughout the workshop.

Meeting Schedule: Thursdays from 6:45-8:00 pm

In the last workshop, you will make your final presentation and reflect on our journey together, which will serve as the final exam for the workshop. There will be no additional exam during the exam period.