“Innov8X is unlike any other, fostering new learning techniques, encouraging students to think big, and providing an environment that nurtures a growing mind.”

Entrepreneurial education is crucial in shaping the future leaders of tomorrow. It goes beyond traditional academics, fostering a mindset of innovation, risk-taking, and creative problem-solving. This type of development is becoming especially important in majors that are not traditionally linked to entrepreneurship. It is the pathway to creating minds that tap into every part of their brains to solve issues. To redefine entrepreneurship and innovation is subject to interpretation, but redefining how we teach these topics opens a world of possibilities and opportunities. Innov8x, an entrepreneurship program from Colorado School of Mines, strives to do just that: to create a learning experience like no other, one in which students embrace experimentation and its success and failure as learning opportunities and where they can grow and develop, bringing them ever closer to creating meaningful value to society.

Sitting in class, confronted with industry challenges, and dreading the repetitive pitch cycle—Innov8x changes all that. Grounded in practical experience and rigorous research, Innov8x blends traditional entrepreneurial content with hands-on, real-world experiences and lessons crafted by our director, Dr. Sid Saleh. Dr. Saleh wanted it to be tailored to the student, their learning needs, and aspirations. Rather than continually teaching the same canned information, the course provides students with the information, process, and structure they need when they need it. Creating a personalized environment for each student, our professors and Problem Champions team up to teach and often collaborate with students.

In this unique learning environment, the teaching team is composed of a lead faculty instructor and experienced mentors. Students are tasked with a semester challenge involving a problem brought in by industry leaders for students to solve. In teams, the students work closely with the Problem Champions providing the challenge. Over the course of the semester, the teams will rapidly iterate ideas and pretotypes₁, which they will then get feedback on. They will revise and rework the problem based on the feedback and perform the final steps of rounding out a solution to be implemented. Every semester holds a different set of problems to be solved, from prolonging military aircraft life to finding more sustainable alternatives to the typical running shoe foam. The depth of our program and the tenacity of our students keep the companies wanting more. They have confidence that they will get solutions from our students that are well worth their time and effort.

Innov8x does not just offer an educational experience, it cultivates a dynamic in which a holistic education is delivered with a passion and focus on student outcomes. Having started in the fall of 2021 with a mere 15 students, Innov8x has grown each semester to, now, 45 total students enrolled. Inspired by what they have accomplished in class and by the support of the professors, many of the students take this experience and run with it—participating in flash challenges, forming clubs that support their interests, and launching their very own start-ups!

Orbital Mining is an Innov8x based start-up that is working to design and build the first lunar power plant and DC Microgrid with the goal of enabling long-term lunar settlement and creating expanded lunar operations. Austere Environmental is a great example of addressing an environmental challenge by specializing in remediating soils contaminated with petroleum products. Each of these companies was formed during their time in the course. Now they are successful startup enterprises, bringing what they have learned to create innovative solutions to their respective Industries. Their success underscores the transformative potential of university programs in driving real-world impact. Innov8x laid the groundwork for not only these groups to make an impact, but for all individuals going through the program to be able to innovate within their communities and companies.

One example of this comes from the success story of Thomas Chant, a current Mines student who participated in Innov8x last semester. During the semester, Chant was working part-time at a high-end seafood restaurant as a server. A new policy arose in Chant’s work where the staff would be quizzed on the daily menu and specials at the pre-shift meeting. Failure to provide the correct answers multiple times resulted in being sent home. As changes to the menu occurred regularly, Chant recognized that some staff members would miss these changes on their days off resulting in them being unfairly penalized. Chant implemented a “Menu Matrix”, a tool he learned in class, that could be shared across all staff members and would keep everyone up to date on the newest menu changes. All of these are examples of how the Innov8x program is opening the frontiers of methods of teaching Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

About the Author

Shannon Skinner, a Mines Mechanical Engineering sophomore, wrote this article. ACEEU published this article in the Spotlight Magazine.

Listen to Dr. Sid Saleh and Lia Franklin discuss the Innov8x program

Engineering + Entrepreneurship = Innova8x With Sid Hanna Saleh & Lia Franklin

Sundyne will be working with the Innov8x program to solve one of their industry challenges. The challenge and proposal will be presented at the Empowering Pumps & Industry conference on November 12. Learn more about EPIC 2024: https://www.empoweringindustry.com/