Sustainable University IdeaLab at RIT to Draw College Students from Across Country

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RIT hosts Sustainable University IdeaLab workshop on Jan. 4-8

More than 50 college students from around the country have been invited to collaborate on innovative ideas to help universities reduce their large ecological footprints and save money.

Student entrepreneurs and innovators will participate in the Sustainable University IdeaLab workshop Jan. 4-8 at Rochester Institute of Technology. RIT and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance are co-hosting the five-day experiential workshop at RIT’s Center for Student Innovation.

In addition to undergraduate and graduate students from RIT, students from Syracuse University, Clarkson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, University of Cincinnati, University of Rochester, University of Pennsylvania, Jefferson Community College and Cooper Union will participate.

“The basis for this workshop is to empower students to bring earth-saving technologies and products into the marketplace,” says Jon Schull of RIT’s Center for Student Innovation. “And who better than college students to come up with innovative ideas to help universities cut energy and costs?”

During the workshop, students will learn how to develop and commercialize products and innovations that address sustainability issues. Student teams with the best ideas may receive seed grants up to $1,000 and will return eight weeks later to pitch their fledgling businesses to potential investors.

James Barlow, program manager of outreach at the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, will lead the workshop. Barlow has worked in the university entrepreneurship space since 2002.

Trans-Lux Corp., a leading supplier of programmable electronic information displays, is a corporate sponsor of the workshop and will be attending part of the event to expose participants to promising new technologies.