VCU news

By VCU News staff

Virginia Commonwealth University will hold its first Innovation Month in April, celebrating creators, innovators, researchers and entrepreneurship across VCU.

“Innovation is at the heart of every VCU education, and this Innovation Month recognition is a terrific way not only to celebrate what’s happening throughout VCU today but perhaps spark that next great idea,” said Fotis Sotiropoulos, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “Events like these give us the chance to engage with faculty members and students who are on the cutting edge of change, of bringing new solutions to old challenges across the human experience with exciting work and inspiring ideas.”

In September, U.S. News & World Report ranked Virginia Commonwealth University as one of the nation’s 20 most innovative public universities in its 2024 Best Colleges rankings. As part of Innovation Month, a series of events will spotlight the creativity, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that fuel innovation at VCU.

The goal of Innovation Month is to foster collaboration, showcase achievements and inspire individuals from diverse backgrounds to embrace innovation.

“Innovation Month not only celebrates the collective achievements of our academic community but also emphasizes the impact of nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset across different fields of study,” said Lloyd Young, director of innovation and design at the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation and its SHIFT Retail Lab.

Innovation Month coincides with VCU Research Weeks, an annual event designed to showcase and amplify the impact of research, scholarship and creative work on campus. VCU Research Weeks and Innovation Month celebrate events, programs and current research topics that affect our lives and communities.

Among the Innovation Month events:

• Ignite Innovation: A NASA Patent Mining Workshop and Networking Event
  Friday, March 29
  Sponsored by NASA Langley Research Center and the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation
  

The event will explore the innovative potential of NASA technologies and is a chance to connect with collaborators throughout RVA and beyond.

• TEDxVCU Ripple
  Sunday, April 7
  Sponsored by TEDxVCU
  

TEDxVCU Ripple will bring together VCU community members with a range of experiences and interests to provide an interdisciplinary look at the changing world through varied TEDx Talks.
Registration: vcu.campusgroups.com/tedxvcu/rsvp_boot?id=1932005

• Demo Day
  Friday, April 19
  Sponsored by the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation

VCU Demo Day will connect student and alumni innovators and founders with the Richmond ecosystem and beyond. Highlights include hearing pitches from students and alumni who will compete for funding and other prizes.
Registration: connect.business.vcu.edu/register/demo-day-2024

For a full schedule of events and more details, visit the Innovation Month information page.