November 26, 2019

Four Susquehanna University students have been named Stanford University Innovation Fellows.

Among 360 students from 90 higher education institutions in 13 countries to earn the honor, they are:

This is the fourth Susquehanna group named to the Stanford University Innovation Fellows program, which empowers students to become agents of change at their schools by creating opportunities for their peers to engage with innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and creativity.

“Through this program, fellows work to understand the needs of their classmates and the perspectives of faculty and administrators and they apply this knowledge to design new educational opportunities for fellow students,” said Lori Ellison, Susquehanna’s assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship and advisor to Innovation Fellows.

This year’s fellows have already conducted an inventory of innovation and entrepreneurship currently underway on campus and in the community, identified opportunities for growth, designed programming prototypes, and drafted a constitution to be used by future fellows to guide their work.

The group is most focused on consolidating entrepreneurial efforts across campus.

“We want to unite the campus and break down the barriers between departments, classes and professors,” Repetz said.

“We would like to put innovation into everyone’s mind on campus, so that innovation and entrepreneurship are not just associated with business majors,” Ludwig added.

Previous Innovation Fellows at Susquehanna have:

  • Supported the design process for the Dr. Richard E. and Sally F. Caruso Mentoring and Innovation Center.
  • Coordinated events to discuss and support innovation on campus, and to highlight the work of artists, musicians, photographers and other creative people on campus.

Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design runs the program. With the addition of the new fellows, the program has trained more than 2,200 students since its creation.

Following acceptance into the program, students participate in a six-week online training experience that requires them to learn from and work with stakeholders on campus.

In Spring 2020, fellows can participate in one of the program’s two signature events: the Silicon Valley Meetup in California or the Eastern Hemisphere Meetup in Dubai. During these gatherings, Fellows take part in immersive experiences at local universities and organizations, and work with leaders in education and industry.