Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Now Accepting Applications for Intelligence++ Competition

Friday, March 10, 2023, By Cristina Hatem
Share
Blackstone LaunchPadCenter on Disability and InclusionCollege of Visual and Performing ArtsSchool of EducationSyracuse University Libraries

Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad (LaunchPad) will be hosting the Intelligence++ showcase competition on Friday, April 21, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. Undergraduate and graduate student teams across Syracuse University, including SUNY-ESF students taking innovation and entrepreneurship courses at Syracuse, who are interested in competing can apply online by Saturday, April 15. Eight teams will be selected to compete for a chance to win $10,000 in prizes for student-designed products, services and technologies that can assist intellectually disabled people and their families.

The competition is the culmination of an innovative accessible design and entrepreneurship program, Intelligence++, which supports a key pillar of the campus academic plan around accessibility. An innovative, interdisciplinary initiative at Syracuse University focused on inclusive entrepreneurship, design and community, the project is available to all students across the University, including those with intellectual disabilities from InclusiveU, a program of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education. The project is a partnership between Syracuse University Libraries, the School of Education and the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (VPA) School of Design.

The foundation of the Intelligence++ program is an inclusive entrepreneurship and design course, DES 400-600, taught by Don Carr, professor in VPA’s School of Design, with support from Beth Myers, assistant professor of inclusive education in the School of Education and executive director of the Taishoff Center, and Linda Dickerson-Hartsock, adjunct faculty member in the Whitman School, founder of Blackstone LaunchPad and advisor for strategic initiatives at Syracuse University Libraries. The courses and studio workshops are taught in Bird Library.

The program focuses on three main concepts: accessible design, disability and inclusion, and innovation and entrepreneurship. It was launched in 2020 through a generous donation by Gianfranco Zaccai ’70 H’09 and the Zaccai Foundation for Augmented Intelligence. It is one of the only programs of its kind in the country.

Zaccai, a Syracuse University alum with an undergraduate degree in industrial design and an honorary doctorate in fine arts and industrial and interactive design, is a renowned global innovator and designer. He was co-founder of Continuum, now EPAM Continuum, a global innovation by design consultancy with offices in Boston, Milan, Seoul and Shanghai. He will be attending the April 21 event and offering advice and feedback to the students. He is a renowned champion of holistic and interdisciplinary innovation research, design and development.

  • Author

Cristina Hatem

  • Recent
  • Meet Michael Bunker, the New Leader of Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services
    Tuesday, August 5, 2025, By Kiana Racha
  • Rethinking Research Through Visual Storytelling
    Tuesday, August 5, 2025, By Dan Bernardi
  • A Legacy of Caring: Robin Berkowitz-Smith’s 38-Year Journey at Syracuse University
    Tuesday, August 5, 2025, By Kelly Homan Rodoski
  • Syracuse University and University of Bergen Host Transatlantic Alliance for Law, Outreach and National Security Conference
    Monday, August 4, 2025, By Robert Conrad
  • National Grid Summer College Scholars Program Invests in Energy Literacy
    Thursday, July 31, 2025, By Hope Alvarez

More In Campus & Community

Meet Michael Bunker, the New Leader of Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services

Michael Bunker has officially started his new role as associate vice president and chief of Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services. With a strong background in public safety leadership and a passion for community engagement, Bunker brings a clear vision for…

A Legacy of Caring: Robin Berkowitz-Smith’s 38-Year Journey at Syracuse University

In 1988, alumna Robin Berkowitz-Smith ’83 returned to Syracuse University as a newlywed and a professional ready to work with students. What began as a dual job offer for her and her husband, Jeff, turned into Robin’s 38-year legacy of…

Doctoral Candidate Wins Grant for Research on Infrastructure, Violence and Resistance in Pakistan

Bramsh Khan, a Ph.D. candidate in social science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has been awarded a prestigious Wenner-Gren Foundation Dissertation Fieldwork Grant. The Wenner-Gren Foundation, established in 1941, is dedicated to advancing anthropological knowledge throughout…

Co-President of Disability Law Society Eyes Career in National Security Law in Washington

Kaitlin Sommer L’26 is always planning ahead. Throughout her life, she has continuously asked herself, “Is there a better or more efficient way to do this?”, “Am I advocating for what I need?”, “How can I figure this out by…

National Grid Summer College Scholars Program Invests in Energy Literacy

National Grid and Syracuse University’s Office of Pre-College Programs have partnered to inspire the next generation of innovators through the National Grid Summer College Scholars Program. The program will support selected Syracuse City School District high school students for the…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.