University program
Getting it right from the start
Crowdsourcing can play a powerful role within universities and colleges to keep them on the forefront of education innovation, prepare students for the increasingly online world, and to foster closer connections and involvement between students, faculty and administration and beyond the campus with alumni and other constituents and groups. On campus, Crowdsourcing can help find solutions for on-campus issues and provide a conduit for fresh ideas into the academic community.
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The Chaordix University Program
As open innovation and crowdsourcing increasingly becomes a mainstream method for interaction between companies/brands and their constituents, it will be a major asset for future business leaders who are familiar with it. Therefore, it makes sense to have current university school students experience crowdsourcing both angles of the method – as a participant and as a sponsoring organization.
The Chaordix University Program provides member institutions with low or no-cost access to their own crowdsourcing hub, which can be used for a variety of applications.
In–curriculum crowdsourcing:
Innovation Lab: Great for a lab-type project where shorter-term crowdsourcing campaigns are run to crowdsource solutions to case studies.
Entrepreneurship Idea Evolution: As a platform in an entrepreneurial course track to enable students to evolve their business ideas with the collaboration of others in the business school community. This could be extended to include those outside the current student body.
New Course Innovation: Facilitate a semester-long program to identify and evolve ideas to enhance the overall business school offering. This could include students, faculty, administration and potentially alumni.
School-wide Innovation Contests: New business idea “contest” – sponsor a semester-long school-wide contest, either within a particular course or department, or the university as a whole, for best new business idea with some sort of prize for the winner.
Collaborating with the greater university crowd:
Crowdsourcing can be used for problem solving and crowdfunding as well innovation, so it can play a key role in getting the whole university body working collaboratively and cooperatively on issues central to the institute. Here are a few examples:
On-campus Issue Resolution: Crowdsourcing can involve the student body in helping to created solutions for on-campus issues, such as alcohol abuse. By providing a method of involvement in both development of potential solutions, as well as possibly a role in helping to select the “winning idea”, the likelihood of acceptance, adherence and support of the new policy will be increased.
Alumni Network: Use crowdsourcing to provide a way for alumni and other interested parties to become and stay actively involved in the University. The University could choose the topics/subjects of the “calls” and run more than one. Potential topics could include ideas for ways the University could become more ‘green” and ways to increase the endowment.
Departmental Use: Crowdsourcing could be applied by different departments to tap the collective wisdom of their smaller crowds. For example, the Athletics department could reach out to former athletes and high school coaches for input and ideas on their programs to improve recruiting results.
Post-graduate Tool: Enable graduates to tap the collective wisdom of the greater business school community (students, faculty, administration and alumni) for open innovation on new business ideas they may be interested in pursuing, or for current companies that they have joined. Crowdsourcing could be also used to foster crowdfunding for research or new business ideas from the students.
Want to learn more?
Let us tell you more about the Chaordix University program and how crowdsourcing can play a role in your institute’s future. Contact us.