Overview

Powered By Creativity, Driven By Entrepreneurs

Innovation@work is an eight-week experiential program, where innovative UTD graduate student teams will work with executives of major organizations to solve a real business challenge. Students will be equipped with the necessary tools and framework to develop a practical and executable solution. Multiple student teams will compete on the same challenge to impress executives with the most creative and impactful solution. The best solutions are then selected for implementation by the organization’s executives.

Each team will be mentored by an industry-experienced facilitator throughout the eight-week process. There will be weekly sessions that include interactions with industry experts, startup founders, and UTD faculty to share knowledge, tools, and frameworks that would help student teams build an incredible and creative solution.

The program will be led by Dr. Emily Choi, academic director of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Concepts you will learn in this program:

  • What is the right problem to solve to build an effective startup venture or corporate innovation?
  • Why does a problem exist in the first place and why should you be different to succeed
  • How to swim through piles of data and build key insights that act as a foundation for any venture
  • Why a structured approach accelerates innovation and the need for the right team to make it happen
  • How to communicate in a short and crisp way to make an immediate impact among business leaders 

Key Benefits for Students

  • Critical thinking, observations, and curiosity through the right questions
  • Bridging the gap between theory and practice
  • Improve soft skills (teamwork, pitching, leadership)
  • Better access to jobs and internships

Key Benefits for Corporations and Social Organizations

  • Fresh perspectives without any preconceived notion of market boundaries
  • Low-cost (employee time and search cost)
  • Access to global talent pools
  • Increased brand image
Program Details
Application and Eligibility

ELIGIBILITY

Participation in Innovation@work is open to all currently enrolled graduate students.

APPLICATION

Applications for the first cohort are open now. Please use the button below to sign up for the program.

Important Dates
  • Applications Open: April 09, 2024
  • Applications Close: April 19, 2024, at 11:59 PM
  • Team Selection Announced: April 22, 2024
  • Innovation@work Program Commences: May 28, 2024
  • Innovation@work Program Final Pitch : July 19, 2024 (Tentative)
FAQ

Please find the FAQ’s here

Contact

If you are interested in or have any questions about Innovation@work, please contact: