Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design has named three Wichita State students as University Innovation Fellows. Jacob Burns, Molly Carlson and Savannah Redfern will join more than 2,000 Fellows at 267 institutions worldwide. 

The renowned program is a global community that empowers student leaders to increase campus engagement. It encourages students to help their peers build the creative confidence, agency, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to address global challenges and to build a better future. 

The program is run by Epicenter, which is funded by the National Science Foundation and directed by Stanford University and VentureWell.

These new Fellows have big plans for their time at WSU. Projects include:

• Jacob Burns plans to create a “buddy system” for international students. It would pair participants with another student at the university, so they have a point of contact for anything they may need, whether that is a ride to the store or just someone to hang out with. The program would increase the sense of community between WSU international students and other students. Jacob, an electrical engineering major, will look into a program similar to this and work with them to integrate their ideas. 
• Molly Carlson is helping plan a WSU Open Streets event on April 5, 2020. This community event held on campus will increase engagement in the campus community and the surrounding area through activities related to innovation, entrepreneurship and the arts. Different departments will have various craft-based innovation challenges that will encourage students to implement I&E in all aspects of their education, showing the innovation and entrepreneurship opportunities at WSU. Molly is a biomedical engineering major.  
• Savannah Redfern is working on a project-based Living and Learning Community for students. She hopes to create an LLC that is engaging, interdisciplinary and effective in connecting students to each other, to the campus and to the community. She hopes to enrich the students’ academic experience through meaningful interactions that support development and promote engaged learning. Students will learn about Wichita through non-profits, service and volunteering during the first semester. Then, they will use what they learned and work together on projects to improve WSU and Wichita during the second semester. Savannah is a psychology major.