Innovation Week

Published:

March 22, 2017

During Innovation Week, sponsored by the Donald and Winifred Wilson Center for Innovation & Leadership students can complete for prizes, and learn more about researching, evaluating, and pitching innovative ideas in:

Pioneer Weekend, a three-day innovation competition offering hands-on experience and advice from experts.
The Spark Tank Social Innovation Challenge, where the winning students team up with partners in the Grinnell community to deliver their innovative solution to a poverty-related issue.
The Kinetic Sculpture Competition, where students use their engineering and artistic skills to create a sculpture that moves.

Several alumni, leaders in their fields, will mentor the students.

Pioneer Weekend, April 7–9

Student innovators from different backgrounds will compete for $3,500 in prizes. The event encourages hands-on experiences, and aspiring student entrepreneurs can find out if their startup ideas might be viable. Students can register to participate in Pioneer Weekend through April 5.

Beginning with open mic pitches on Friday, students will bring in their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday teams focus on customer development, validating their ideas, practicing LEAN Startup Methodologies, and building a minimal viable product. On Sunday afternoon, teams present their prototypes and receive valuable feedback from a panel of experts.

The final pitch event and prize ceremony is at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 9, in ARH 302, and is open to the public.

Spark Tank Social Innovation Challenge, April 13

Selected from a large pool of applicants, 36 students on 11 teams are working on the Spark Tank Social Innovation Challenge. Since December, each team has been collaborating with local community partners to research, evaluate, and develop innovative solutions to poverty-related challenges in the broader Grinnell community. Topics include how to tell the story of rural poverty, the lack of high-speed internet in rural areas, affordability of early childhood education, lack of rural public transit systems, and the role of community gardens, among others.

Students are competing for cash prizes, and the winning team will receive up to $15,000 from the Wilson Center to help implement the winning solution. Students on the winning team will also have the opportunity to receive a funded summer internship as well as a 2017-18 service learning work-study to help implement the project.

The final pitch event and awards ceremony is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 13, in Harris Center Concert Hall. The public is welcome and a buffet lunch will be provided.

Kinetic Sculpture Competition, April 15

Students have been working on their projects for a little over a month, using their engineering and artistic skills to create a sculpture that moves. $850 in prizes will be awarded.

They will present their entries at the public prize ceremony from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 15, in Bucksbaum Rotunda.

Grinnell College welcomes the participation of people with disabilities. Accommodation requests may be made to Conference Operations.

The College welcomes the presence of minors at all age-appropriate public events and for informal visits, with the understanding that a parent, legal guardian, or other responsible adult assumes full responsibility for their child’s safety and behavior during such visits or events. In these cases the College expects that an adult responsible for the visiting child takes measures to ensure the child’s safety and sees that the child complies with directions of College personnel. Grinnell College is not responsible for supervision of minors on campus.

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The Wilson Center