Tuesday, October 1,2013 | TechNews Chicago Innovation Chase sponSors Lightning RoUnd Utsav Gandhi CAMPUS EDITOR The IIT Main Campus was host to an exciting, fast-paced innovation and entrepreneurship challenge this past week wherein students from different disciplines competed to develop a business idea or service in order to be able to leverage it to the market. The Chicago Innovation Chasevwas created in 2008 by .two Illinois Institute of Technology students, Adam Berg and Gustaf Iosefson, who wanted to design a program which would put students through an accelerated business and design experience “like no other”. The Chase is now organized by Eurekatory, a non-profit company led by Iodi Houlihan, Director of Community Affairs at IIT. _ Eurekatory is an organization dedicated to “researching, designing and executing educational curricula focused on innovation, invention and entrepreneurship.” The Chicago Innovation Chase‘ is a nationally run intercollegiate innovation tournament focusing on curricula-based educational competitions for students. Its goal is to unlock talent necessary to succeed in today’s extremely competitive workplace that demands a need for differentiation and diversification. In the semifinals, held in March this year, teams of students were given two 12-hour blocks to devise an innovative approach with a practical business-minded solution to a real-world, urgent, STEM problem. They are required to work from scratch—under pressure and with constant deadlines—to develop stages of their ideas with consistent feedback from industry experts and mentors, and to ultimately get the idea ready for launch in the public domain. Over the course of the competition, the team undertook the same process as a startup company would as it went through various iterations of design, research, prototyping, . market management, proposal drafting, and presentations, all with the aim to solve a critical world problem. The challenge given to the team was centered on the medical concerns of the - elderly, and the teams each worked on diabetes, sleep disorders and hip injuries. The Lightning Round of the Chase was held this past weekend on the [IT campus, with teams taking forward their products and services, this time with some additional mentoring and guidance from various experts from the Institute of Design as well as the innovation industry. Sessions included ones - c on Design Thinking, Competitive Landscaping, Business Ethics, Brand Development, User Experience Studies, Customer Personas, Analytics, Behavioral Economics, Financial Analysis as well as Funding and Investment Strategies, among other things. Sleep Better, a service offered by Team Paradigm Shift, aimed to recognize and treat sleep disorders by monitoring activity levels/preferences and promoting high activity during the day. SugarCube, offered by Team South Side Synergy, aimed to tackle compliance of glucose level check—ups for diabetes mitigation, through the use of social networks. Hip Alert, the product which won the competition, was created to prevent hip injuries due to falls by enabling efficient communication at the time of fall. The three day competition provided an excellent opportunity for students to network with industry experts and mentors on various aspects of business development. It also helped them to immerse themselves in the practical application of many concepts we may or may not learn in class, but that are crucial to develop for the professional workspace. One of the most exciting sessions was when students were required to go around the city to strategically placed investors, and pitch their products to them in the hopes of securing funding. The event ended with a team ' presentation for constructive feedback from the esteemed judges. The logistics of the event ran ' extremely smoothly, with the participants very well cared for, especially in terms of meals and nourishment provided. The Idea Shop (Jeremy Alexis 8r Rima Kuprys), Community Affairs, University Technology park (Cassidy Turley) and WISER (Dr. Mohammad Shahidehpour) were among the many IIT entities who graciously offered space in some of the best conference rooms 10cated on campus for the competition. External acknowledgements include those due to representatives from BP, Walgreens, GravityTank, Spar’d, Grubhub, Wrigley Mars, the IIT Institute of Design and Doblin; among 'many others. The event also would not have been possible without the generous initial funding of Professors Keith Bowman (MMAE) and Vince Turitto (BME) who also provided the research problem for the teams to work on. It is rare to find such opportunities as a student to be able to experience a real world project; the participants would definitely recommend the experience to any student even remotely interested in learning how critical thinking and innovation processes work in the real world. Photos by Utsav Gandhi CMC increases outreaCh, assistance with new advisor Travon Cooman COPY EDITOR The Career Management Center (CMC) has responded to the need for more outreach and assisting students with their professional development .by hiring a new Advisor, Yahaira Guilfu-Diaz. “We saw 550 students in the first four weeks of the semester and we needed an advisor to do more outreach,” said Andres Garza, the CMC’s Executive ~ Director. “We are glad she is here. I want you to know that this overall strategy to do more is why we hired an additional advisor.” Diaz, who has prior experience as a Career Coach, not only loves to travel and try new foods, but also does mission work with World Vision, a humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Having formerly worked with Olive-Harvey College students who had undeclared majors, she was committed in helping them decide on a career field that might suit them best based on their personalities and interests. It was during her research on reputable Engineering Universities for her students that Diaz heard about IIT. “A lot _ of my experience just in Career Coaching and professional development 15 over eight years,’ said Diaz. “Just the experience of having to work with adults and more traditional college has helped prepare me,” she said, when asked about how her former job has prepared her to serve as an additional Advisor at IIT. Furthermore, she stated that her personal interest of travelling abroad has helped her connect with students in a different way. Diaz, 1n collaboration with the other CMC advisors have been engaged in many outreach activities including workshops and mock interviews especially before the Career Fair a few weeks ago. Despite not knowing the history about how IIT students prepare for such events, Diaz urges students to approach their careers in a strategic manner. “Undergraduate students should start early.,It’s never too early,” she emphasized. Students can select three organizations they would like to work for ' and can find the common skills that would be required of them to be hired and work towards developing these skills as a good strategy they can employ. She also mentioned that being active in the different organizations on campus could help develop skills that will be useful to their professional careers. When asked about the recurring problems she encounters with students - concerning planning their careers, Diaz reiterated that students should not wait until the last minute to plan their careers. Since a resume is their marketing piece as well as a working Photo by Travon cooman document, effort must be put into it and it should be built over time. She is encouraging students to come visit the CMC so that they can receive guidance 1n their careers. She will also serve as the career advisor for the students from ‘ the College of Architecture and the College of Life Sciences.