Importance in the World
Innovation is everywhere in our rapidly-changing world. It's one of those terms that's used often but rarely defined. If creativity is the ability to generate new ideas, innovation can be thought of as the processes of bringing those new ideas to realization.
Importance on Campus
Teaching Innovation
Jeff Moore on Classroom Innovations
Curriculum Innovation
The Cancer Scholars Program is a new undergraduate program created to provide a unique and interdisciplinary student learning experience. Whereas traditional undergraduate education has focused on classroom instruction independent of career aspirations or broader causes, this new model for undergraduate education is motivated by societal challenges and incorporates real-world experiences. Aligned with students’ passions, this approach is designed to inspire better learning, provide opportunity for undergraduate students to work in a meaningful manner in an important area for society, and ultimately impact society with smart and innovative Illinois graduates providing solutions to fight cancer.
Social Innovation
The University of Illinois has always been very good at commercializing the core assets of our institution. By broadening the definition of entrepreneurship in higher education to include social, cultural, commercial, and technological value creation, we create a powerful and effective way to fulfill the land-grant mission of public universities like ours. Social Innovation @ Illinois is a new cross-campus effort to take our human and intellectual capital and turn it into social value. The social innovation initiative seeks to holistically develop students into critical leaders in social innovation with a rigorous curricular and co-curricular pipeline for social venturing. Learning through venturing allows students to select the challenges they want to tackle and is, therefore, fundamentally more likely to resonate with our students.
Ashoka U and the Cordes Foundation recognize Social Innovation @ Illinois for promising educational approaches in social entrepreneurship. See the entire video on YouTube
How Can CITL Help You with Being Innovative?
At CITL, innovation means moving beyond the traditional practices of higher education to explore new opportunities to engage students; to develop reflective, critical thinkers and entrepreneurs; and to create inquisitive scholars with a passion for life-long learning. If you have the drive and initiative to explore new educational methods or create innovative new programs, our consultants are here to help guide you through the process.