College students of Tampa Bay are going to have the ability to put their problem solving skills to the test at USF St. Petersburg’s Innovation Overnight.
On April 10, a 20-hour “design-a-thon” will take place in the University Student Center ballrooms. Students will work in groups of five to “solve real-world problems proposed from the local business community,” according to the Innovation Overnight website.
Co-creator and project manager Jessica Chin told The Crow’s Nest she has been working on putting this event together since October. The idea for the event emerged from the Tampa Bay Technology Forum student chapter and will be managed by it.
“We’ve never done this before. This is huge,” Chin said. “Especially because it is open to all students.”
On the first day of the Innovation Overnight, students will work from 3 p.m. to midnight, with an option to stay and work through the night. Breaks will be taken during the planning process to play trivia, participate in a hula hoop competition and indulge in an ice cream social.
During the main part of the event, students will be guided through the design process, which will include four main steps: explore, ideate, build and test.
“This event is really centered around brave waves,” Chin said. “We want lots of thinking and lots of intense work going on.”
Teams will reunite on Saturday at 7 a.m. to prepare their pitches for the panel of judges, which will be mainly comprise participating business executives. According to Chin, they get exactly three minutes to pitch. Winners will be announced after all teams present.
“It is our hope that companies are so blown away that they use the ideas in their business model, but we can’t guarantee that,” Chin said.
The entire event is free and students are not required to bring any materials, but are welcome to bring electronics such as laptops and tablets.
“Each team is going to have a designated table, and that table will have everything they will need
to accomplish their problem,” Chin said.
Chin hopes that the students walk away from the event with a new perspective on the way that they think and take on problems.
Registration is currently open for all undergraduate and graduate students in the Tampa Bay area. Students can sign up with a team or individually. Registration will remain open until it reaches its cap at 100 students.
This is the first of what may become an annual event. Chin said plans are already underway for next year’s Innovation Overnight.
If you go:
Innovation Overnight is April 10 at USF St. Petersburg. For more information about the event, or to sign up, visit http://www.usfsp.edu/innovation-overnight/
