Vanderbilt Fellows Work to Solve Campus-Wide Challenges Through Innovation

Do you ever wonder what happens to ideas that are proposed in the Wond'ry's design thinking sessions? This semester, a new program was launched to directly tackle some of those proposed challenges while also giving participants an immersive learning experience that equips them to contribute to the Vanderbilt ecosystem. 

The Vanderbilt Innovation Fellowship program launched with 10 participants, who are tackling two different challenges, both stemming from the ideas submitted as part of the “50 Ideas, 50 Solutions in 50 Days: Innovating for the Next 150 Years of Vanderbilt University” initiative.

The two challenge statements:

1. How might we create a campus environment that prioritizes accessibility and safety, ensuring all students, staff, and visitors can navigate and engage with Vanderbilt’s campus comfortably and confidently?
2. How might we design a holistic support system that empowers veteran students, faculty, and staff at Vanderbilt to build community, foster meaningful connections, and easily access relevant resources?

Throughout the semester, the participants worked to understand user needs through customer discovery. The program's unique focus on user-centricity set it apart, as the fellows immersed themselves in extensive research to gain insights into the perspectives and requirements of stakeholders. This foundational work allowed them to define the core problems and ideate towards real solutions. "I loved the fact that it simply felt so real and tangible," said first-year Caleb Ching. "Working on this project gave our team the opportunity to make a substantive impact on the student body."

• Project 1: VIF team 1 set to address accessibility to student resources across campus, a revamped concept they brainstormed from the original prompt. By focusing on improving the experience for students on campus and connecting with key stakeholders. Through interviews and user research, they identified key pain points and ideated solutions to better connect students with resources and support services. Their work is leading to the creation of a centralized hub and tailored programming that has been widely praised by the student community.

• Project 2: VIF team 2 focused on bridging the sense of community between veteran groups across campus. The team conducted interviews and user research to deeply understand the pain points and needs of the various veteran communities across campus. They then defined the core problem as the lack of coordination and information sharing between the different veteran organizations and resources on campus. With this problem definition in place, the team is generating innovative solutions, such as a centralized communication platform and cross-group networking events.

Stay tuned to hear more on the continuation of these two projects, and how they are implemented within Vanderbilt. 

"The Vanderbilt Innovation Fellowship Program allows students to see that they are capable of making real world changes to Vanderbilt's existing ecosystem", said fourth-year Lian Luo. "If you plan on participating, Be ready to solve real world challenges and be excited to embrace the impact and change you can make!"