Students spend a lot of time working toward their majors—they spend many hours in class, working with students from their discipline on class projects and meeting in the building that houses their academic major. So what happens if you’re a student interested in entrepreneurship, which requires meeting like-minded students, but with diverse skill sets, outside of your major?
The IDEA Connectors, a group of 16 students from almost every school and college at SU dedicated to igniting the spirit of entrepreneurship across the SU campus, took on the challenge.
“We wanted to create a physical space that promotes SU’s mission of cross-campus entrepreneurial collaboration,” says Tory Gentes, the student entrepreneurial consultant who provides leadership to the IDEA Connectors. “The goal is to encourage a culture of cross-campus collaboration, not to create or replace existing entrepreneurship programs.”
The Connectors, along with the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship, searched for a neutral space on campus not tied to any one academic department or building. That space, IDEA Spot, is in Marshall Square Mall, across from Subway. Any student is welcome to stop by, meet other innovators, and start their creative juices flowing. There will be a grand opening for IDEA Spot on Friday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
IDEA Spot has a mission: It’s the place for entrepreneurial conversations for students by students, it provides a creative space where students can brainstorm, tinker and develop their ideas, and is an academically neutral space where students can access cross-campus resources, find teammates and collaborate on their ideas.
The IDEA Connectors also aim to make IDEA Spot a place to invite and engage community members and alumni with campus entrepreneurship.
“IDEA Spot is space where students can have fun talking about their ideas and a place where they can feel comfortable taking risks,” says Chris Guimarin, the IDEA Connector leading this project. “It’s a place where students can push themselves and tinker with new ideas. I hope IDEA Spot becomes a real pillar in the Syracuse entrepreneurship community, and that when people think of entrepreneurship, their first thought is to head to IDEA Spot and test out their idea with their peers.”
IDEA Spot is not intended to be a place to come to build a prototype, but a starting point and a place to meet other people with the same energy to make things happen.
“I am extremely pumped to see this get off the ground,” says Guimarin. “I’m confident that SU students have the ideas and the energy to make this an awesome place to collaborate and exchange ideas.”
To learn more about IDEA and the IDEA Connectors, visit the IDEA website, the IDEA Connectors page, or contact Stacey Keefe at sekeefe@syr.edu.
