With more cranes in the skyline than Austin, Denver, San Francisco, and even New York City and with nearly 100+ people moving to our city each day, it is clear that Nashville is in an era of unprecedented expansion. Likewise, as the city has grown and attracted newcomers, entrepreneurship has also flourished with the Kauffman Foundation’s Annual Report ranking Nashville #5 hub for startup growth in the nation.
This growth has not gone unnoticed, but in fact has been fully embraced at Vanderbilt University. With the launch of the Wond’ry in the fall of 2016, Vanderbilt University’s new Innovation Center, there is now a place on campus that is solely dedicated to creative collisions. Serving all academic disciplines of faculty, staff, and students, the Wond’ry is where truly new ideas can be generated, tinkered with, prototyped and tested, and it is where new ways of doing can begin to take shape. But most importantly, at the Wond’ry, we strive to create a place where aspiring innovators can safely leave their comfort zones and learn, and where they can experience success and failure while ultimately gaining fresh insights. With over 13,000+ visitors since its opening, the Wond’ry is truly creating this creative hub experience.
With that said, the Wond’ry is not solely focused only on students, or solely on the on-campus community. It in fact serves as an entry point and front gate for community and industry members who desire to forge university ties for new ideas and projects. Being at the center of better understanding of the distribution of knowledge and insight across campus, the Wond’ry also acts as a better barometer to those who will have the energy and willingness to put that knowledge and insight to creative uses. Ultimately, the Wond’ry is a connector and facilitator ensuring that the best and brightest both on campus and off can come together to solve problems that improve the way we live.
We welcome you to come visit the Wond’ry and follow our daily activities via our our social media pages @theWondry. Innovate Onward!
-Robert Grajewski
Evans Family Executive Director
the Wond’ry at Vanderbilt University