University Innovation Lab
INNOVATION LAB
State-of-the-art space on campus
Fostering interdisciplinary skill sets
Structured Innovation Program
Reimagining How We Teach, Learn and Create
The Binghamton University Innovation Lab will align educational processes and student learning to better suit the job skills and demands of the future. By fostering interdisciplinary skill sets, the lab will help our students create comprehensive solutions for the economy's greatest challenges.
State-of-the-art space on campus, the lab will be dedicated to teaching and learning through a structured Innovation Program for undergraduate students that will combine academics, experiential learning, networking and mentorship. The three-year, high-impact Innovation Program — which plans to enroll its first students in fall 2018 — will select 30 students from across the University to participate. Over a five-year period, the program will scale to 150 students.
The lab will attract our next generation of dreamers and doers by joining creatives, engineers, scientists and business specialists. In addition, it will engage diverse thought leaders from academia and industry to facilitate disruptive innovation.
Mission
- Rethink traditional ways to teach and learn
- Provide a space for ideas to come to life
- Produce the talent organizations need to thrive
Vision
- Disrupt the marketplace
- Drive economic development
- Improve quality of life
Curriculum
- Year 1: Identify problems
- Year 2: Design prototype and test
- Year 3: Deliver pitches
The next step
The best ideas will advance to the $19-million 35,000-square foot Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, located in downtown Binghamton, that offers laboratories and other features associated with industry-based R&D, including testing and evaluation and prototyping. The Incubator will provide the infrastructure needed for the ideas generated in the Innovation Lab to reach the marketplace.
Developing the skill sets of the future
Through the Innovation Program students will gain job skills in:
- Experimentation, creativity and problem solving
- Resiliency and recovery from failure
- Solving complex, unstructured problems
- Employing cross-functional teams
How we will get there
The Innovation Lab will break down academic and professional silos by joining faculty/student expertise in business, science, engineering, innovation and design. The lab will foster existing cutting-edge research and high-tech resources to accelerate innovation.
Lab elements
The Innovation Lab will be co-located with the University’s Digital Learning Commons,
which is located in the Glenn G. Bartle Library. Its design will be open and flexible
to encourage teamwork and innovation in a widerange of activities — from large-scale
University events to on-one-one sessions.
The state-of-the-art space will contain:
- A large multi-touch display screen
- A video projection wall
- 3-D printers
- A design lab
- Soft, flexible and moveable furnishings
- A prototyping workshop and equipment
- Classroom and meeting space
- Virtual conferencing systems
Contact us
Binghamton University is currently in the capital fundraising phase for the Innovation Lab facilities. For information, contact Laurie Norell at lnorell@binghamton.edu or 607-777-2948