Big Idea: Growing Students into Innovators
“Students graduating in the next few years will have between four and 11 careers over their lifetimes,” Schuldt says, “so it is vital that they develop these flexible skills.”
Pitt’s Big Idea Center, established in 2018 through a gift from Pitt alumnus and trustee Bob Randall, saw its own big idea come to fruition this year, as it opened its doors to a new 5,000-square-foot space in the heart of Pitt’s campus in Oakland.
The Big Idea Center, part of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is an on-campus, inclusive innovation catalyst that helps to develop the innovative and entrepreneurial mindset and skill set of the Pitt student community.
Under the direction of Rhonda Schuldt, the new facility offers student entrepreneurs access to two floors of physical space. Programming offers students acceleration, incubation, mentoring, networking, competitions and events to nurture and develop their original ideas into entrepreneurial projects.
“Innovation and entrepreneurship are not only for a select few. Often, people think innovators and entrepreneurs are reserved for those in business or technology fields, but really they are open to anyone—any student in any discipline where there is a problem to solve,” says Schuldt.
Jennifer Barnes, Supplier Diversity and Sustainability Coordinator (part of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence) June 2021
“Creativity and curiosity can ignite a search for solutions to that problem. The Big Idea Center is the place where students can step in and become the problem finders and problem solvers who change our world.”
While some of the Big Idea Center programs are competition oriented, such as the Randall Family Big Idea Competition, all aim to advance students’ learning and progress through the lens of innovation and entrepreneurship and are open to all Pitt students, from first-year undergraduates to postdoctoral researchers.
“The qualities and skills that students master while participating in the Big Idea Center, such as curiosity, problem solving, collaboration, empathy, resilience, taking action and adapting to change and uncertainty, are skills that are not just for students looking to establish a startup. They are experiential skills that will help them [to] succeed in any job or as part of any team in the future as well as [encourage] them to be lifelong learners,” says Schuldt.
In turn, many students find that their entrepreneurial experiences bring more meaning to their research or clinical work and that they have access to a broader perspective when they return to the classroom.
