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Sophomore Juhee Bhatt Named University Innovation Fellow


Last updated November 9, 2016

By Tina Underwood

Furman University sophomore Juhee Bhatt has been named a University Innovation Fellow by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). She is the daughter of Paresh and Malvika Bhatt of Clover, S.C.

She joins a total of 169 students from 49 higher education institutions in four countries who have also received the recognition for 2016-2017.  Including newly named fellows, the program has trained 776 students at 164 institutions since the program’s creation.

The University Innovation Fellows (UIF) program empowers students to become agents of change at their schools. Fellows work to ensure that their peers gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to compete in the economy of the future and make a positive impact on the world.

To accomplish this, the Fellows advocate for lasting institutional change and create opportunities for students to engage with innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and creativity at their schools. Fellows design innovation spaces, start entrepreneurship organizations, host experiential learning events and work with faculty to develop new courses.

A double major in Psychology and Political Science, Bhatt said she aims to understand different international political environments and wants to psychologically assist children who are entangled in political unrest. She has completed an internship in which she helped resettle refugees in the Charlotte, N.C., area while simultaneously volunteering with refugee and immigrant children to aid them in cultural orientation.

“We believe students can be so much more than just the customers of their education. They can be leaders of change and they can co-design the higher education experience,” said Humera Fasihuddin, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “This core belief has driven the program since its inception, and we’ve seen the results of this belief put to action at schools around the world. Fellows are collaborating with their peers, faculty and administrators to create more educational opportunities for students at their schools. They are making measurable gains, both in the number of resources and the students served by the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.”

Individual Fellows as well as institutional teams of Fellows are sponsored by faculty and administrators and selected through an application process twice annually. Following acceptance into the program, schools fund the students to go through six weeks of online training and travel to the annual University Innovation Fellows Silicon Valley Meetup. Throughout the year, they take part in events and conferences and have opportunities to learn from one another, Stanford mentors, and leaders in academia and industry.

“Through this program, Fellows learn how to analyze their campus ecosystems for new opportunities, understand the needs of stakeholders at their schools, collaborate with peers from different disciplines, and solve open-ended problems,” said Leticia Britos Cavagnaro, co-director of the University Innovation Fellows program. “All of these mindsets and skills will help Fellows make a difference in higher education as well as in the increasingly complex world that awaits them after graduation.”

In March 2017, students will have the opportunity to participate in the Silicon Valley Meetup, which brings together all Fellows trained in fall 2016 and spring 2017. During this gathering, Fellows will take part in immersive experiences at the d.school, Google and other Silicon Valley organizations. They will participate in experiential workshops and exercises focused on topics including movement building, innovation spaces, design of learning experiences, and new models for change in higher education.

Learn more about the program at http://universityinnovationfellows.org, or contact the Furman News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.

About Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school):
The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University (known as the d.school) brings together students and faculty from radically different backgrounds to develop their creative confidence and their potential as innovators by tackling real-world challenges. Learn more at http://dschool.stanford.edu.

 

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