Wichita State University
Alumni Interview with Kiley Burris
KILEY BURRIS
Current Title: Assistant Director for the Office of Innovation and New Ventures at Wichita State University
Current Responsibilities:
Work with community members to help turn ideas into action and start building a business
around it through the 8-week ignitor accelerator program.
Industry: Business Consulting for Wichita and the surrounding Communities.
(As of publishing in September 2020)
| Kiley's Plan of Study | Cr/Hr |
|---|---|
| FA 710 - Seminar in Creativity & Innovation | 3 |
| ID 500 - Design Thinking Process* | 1 |
| ID 501 - Design Thinking Facilitation | 1 |
| ID 503 - Introduction to Branding | 1 |
| ID 504 - Building a Brand Strategy for Innovation | 1 |
| ID 753 - Design: Intent vs Impact* | 3 |
| ID 752 - Product, Service, & Process Prototyping | 3 |
| ID 502 & 505 - Design Thinking Implementation: Challenges 1 & 2 | 4 |
| ID 506 - Leadership Development for Innovation | 3 |
| ENTR 706 - Seminar in New Product/Tech Development | 3 |
| ID 710 - Service Design Thinking | 2 |
| ID 840 - Innovation in Practice | 2 |
| ID 841 - Project* | 3 |
| Total Hours | 30 |
*Required MID Course as of 2019
Kiley with her lamp she designed and built for an assignment in the ID 752: Prototyping
Course.
Kiley Burris was a burst of fun and all about great energy during her time with the MID Cohort of 2018-2020 — so much so, that we brought her back to join our team in 2022! You don't have to know Kiley long to know she is very serious about not taking life too seriously. She has always been one to spark innovative ideas and pushes those around her to think bigger!
Why did you join the MID program?
I joined the MID program because I had been thinking about going to grad school for
a while, but never found any degrees intriguing enough to make the leap. When I was
introduced to this program, everything changed. It offered a space that combined all
of the pieces of what I longed for in an education together in unexpected, exciting,
and inspiring ways. I knew right away that the interdisciplinary aspect of this degree
meant it wasn’t a cookie-cutter education and was somewhere I could grow my thinking
in methods not offered anywhere else.
What was your favorite project/class you took? What did you enjoy about it?
Design Thinking courses were my favorite throughout the two years I was in MID. They gave me a space
to share and collaborate on the outlandish, sometimes unrealistic ideas I have. Ideas
that many others would think improbable were encouraged and built upon by Doug and
my classmates.
Kiley Burris testing out new tech at CES 2019
What are some things you learned in the program that you are able to use now?
I try to implement the Design Thinking process wherever I can in my life and work.
It is a very helpful tool that can guide everything from small decisions to large
projects. It also forces you to constantly challenge the way you view all aspects
of a thought.
What advice do you have for someone about starting the MID Program?
As those at Nike would say…Just Do It.
Also, don’t be afraid to challenge your view of pretty much everything when starting this program. Allow yourself to have wild and crazy ideas because I guarantee you’ll find someone who is inspired by them and will in turn inspire you to take a fresh perspective. Nothing is “normal” about MID and that’s what makes it great.
From the 2019 trip to Chicago for NeoCon, Kiley found a fun display at one of the
vendor booths.