Holden Thorp to launch 'Innovate @ Carolina' program

Students and faculty members will be hearing the word “innovation” a lot more in the coming months.

It’s the subject of a new $125 million “Innovate@Carolina” plan dreamed up by Chancellor Holden Thorp to make UNC a leading university in innovation and entrepreneurship.

It’s also slated to be the theme of University Day on Oct. 12, when Thorp will unveil the project’s “Roadmap to Success,” an outline of planned initiatives which call for the University to better facilitate the translation of concepts into innovations addressing problems ranging from access to clean water to the youth achievement gap.

Student Body Secretary Ian Lee, who also serves as a member of the project’s student-led input committee, said the document will serve as Thorp’s legacy.

University officials and students involved in the shaping of the plan said the broad project still lacks implementation strategies after more than a year of development.

The Chancellor’s Student Innovation Team is focusing on creating a “student innovation hub,” on the bottom floor of the Student Union, where students can meet to formulate ideas and seek assistance from faculty members and mentors, said Shruti Shah, chairwoman of the team.

Team member Andrew Lu said student fees will likely fund the hub. He added that funds from preexisting projects will not be diverted, but if projects share similar goals, they will fall under the umbrella of the Innovate@Carolina initiative.

The faculty committee is looking for ways to improve the education system for innovation, said committee member Judith Cone, who also serves as special assistant to the chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Other initiatives include the expansion of the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program, establishing a Carolina Innovation Fund and creating new professorships.

Cone said the project will move from the strategizing stage to the implementation stage after University Day.

Cone and Shah said they sought students with diverse backgrounds who are interested in entrepreneurship and innovation to take part in the project.

“We want a cross-pollination of ideas,” Cone said.

Officials say several of the stated goals and plans of Innovate@Carolina are similar to those likely to be in the new academic plan, a draft of which will be released in about four weeks.

At the academic plan steering committee’s Friday meeting, committee member and public policy professor Maryann Feldman expressed concern that releasing the two projects at the same time might distract from the more policy-orientated academic plan.

Cone and Bill Andrews, co-chairman of the academic plan steering committee, said the two plans are meant to work together, rather than serve as rivals.

“We are trying to make sure people understand that the academic plan and road map complement each other,” Cone said.

“Innovation is about looking at the status of what exists right now and asking how to make that status better,” she added. “Everyone has a role in innovation.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.