University Innovation Fellows | Research Park | SIU

The University Innovation Fellows program empowers students to become leaders of change in higher education. Fellows are creating a national movement to ensure that all students gain the necessary attitudes, skills and knowledge to compete in the economy of the future.

The program was created by the National Center for Engineering Pathways to Innovation (Epicenter), a five-year National Science Foundation grant. The University Innovation Fellows is now a program of Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). The program has trained 1,838 Fellows at 258 global institutions. They range from undergraduates to Ph.D. students and engineering majors to architecture majors. All of them demonstrate a passion for innovation, creativity and the entrepreneurial mindset as well as a drive to make a lasting impact at their schools. Each university also invests in each Fellow for their training and participation at a national meet-up which includes activities at Google's campus, Microsoft, and the Stanford d.school.  Deborrius Jeffries, one of SIU's University Innovation Fellows, wrote a great article about his trip, and Mary McGee added her perspective after her 2017 trip.

Southern Illinois University had its first Fellow in 2013. There are currently seven active student Fellows on campus and two faculty/staff members. Recent activities include half-day design-thinking workshops, technology entrepreneurship activities, and the Saluki Innovation Series.

SIU University Innovation Fellows

SIU Faculty Fellows

SIU Champions