The University of Florida is one of the few schools that offers a minor in innovation, which you could acquire through the Innovation Academy. I have been a member of that program for over a year and have been thoroughly enjoying the classes. They focus on creativity and unique thinking processes. The more I learn, the more I notice how connected entrepreneurship and creativity are. One of my most memorable entrepreneurship ideas happened last year after seeing an intriguing video on Facebook. It was a lecture on how to enhance memory. I was amazed by how logical and beneficial the developers learning techniques were. So, I did more research and found that along with his memory improvement techniques he also developed courses on speed reading and comprehension. He accumulated all the skills in a course called the Superlearner program. I then realized how beneficial these skills would be for a freshman who is beginning to enter four years of rigorous courses. That day the Warring Business School Associates Dean spoke to the freshman class and concluded by telling us that he would be happy to meet with any of us to discuss our future plans or ideas. I then drew the connection to utilize my networking and introduce the Dean with the plan of implementing the courses into the University of Florida. Giving students the tools to succeed throughout college and after graduation, which would also improve the institution as a whole. I took action and reached out to the founder of the Superlearner program to see if he was interested in potentially implementing his course in a University. The course could be purchased online on his website, but I thought it would be truly beneficial to make it available as a class for students in their early years of college in order to better prepare them for the high-level courses. The creator of the course thought it was a great idea, and we spoke about how to pitch the plan of applying his course to the university curriculum. It all stemmed from a video on Facebook that led to a recognition of an opportunity.
I have never been the type of student to love and focus on a specific subject, but creativity is one topic I am passionate about. Its correlation to entrepreneurship is what encouraged me to take this course. I want to learn how to use innovation and creativity to develop opportunities for myself.
Bram, I loved how your inspiration turned into such an amazing concept! It’s always fun to look back and see how the smallest things in life can lead to incredible outcomes! I agree with your perspective of University of Florida’s business school, it is comprised of experienced and renown professionals that all have their unique set of skills and expertise. They are truly here for our success and inspire us student daily.
ReplyDeleteHi, there! After I finished reading your entrepreneurship story, the first thing I did was say “wow” aloud. The way you saw an opportunity and took it upon yourself to help further it was inspiring. It’s moments like that that are what separates successful entrepreneurs from the rest. You saw the potential to better not only the program, but also the lives of many college students. If this is what you do when it’s not your own business, I can only imagine the places you’ll reach after you graduate.
ReplyDeleteHi Bram,
ReplyDeleteAs another member of the Innovation Academy, I found your entrepreneurship story particularly interesting. At times as an Innovation Academy student, it has felt like I have a reduced impact on campus, in large part due to the alternate schedule that we go by. The fact that you have been able to make such progress with something as cool and unique as this is really inspiring. If you intend to pursue this further, you may want to speak with Dr. Citty and the other administrators of the Innovation Academy, this seems like something that might definitely be incorporated into a class such as Creativity in Context.
Bram,
ReplyDeleteThis is great story to tell anyone about an entrepreneurship opportunity. This is an experience that you would tell your friends about and they would not believe you at all. I found it impressive how you helped and spoke to the Associate Dean about this opportunity.
In the future, I would provide feedback to whether this wanted you to become an entrepreneur or not. Also, I would say why this experience influenced you in such a big way to help reach out to the administration for this person.