BYU students innovate and create

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Hundreds of students joined together Wednesday night to innovate and create at the Innovation Academy’s workshop for students on campus.

[Courtesy Thomas White] Students practice innovative skills by building structures using only spaghetti, marshmallows and tape.
The Innovation Academy is one of the largest student run interdisciplinary organizations on campus and was put together to help inspire and create innovation within students.

Aubri Robinson, a junior studying business management, said that anyone can learn the skills that are taught by the Innovation Academy.

“The Innovation Academy’s goal is to teach the fundamental skills of innovation,” Robinson said. “Innovation is something that doesn’t just happen in the mind, it’s also behavioral and we can change our behavior, so anyone can be innovative if they want to.”

Robinson said all students are welcome to attend workshops put on by the Innovation Academy no matter their major.

“We’re focusing on observing and questioning which are two of the fundamental skills of innovation,” Robinson said. “Hopefully (students) will go away being able to observe things better in their surroundings and to question why things happen. . .and hopefully make them better.”

The event included extensive group participation. Students competed in activities such as redesigning a hotel room and building structures out of spaghetti, marshmallows and tape in order to learn how to “bring about good change.”

Amanda Hill, a sophomore studying therapeutic recreation believes that the Innovation Academy can help in developing important job skills for the future.

“The Innovation Academy helps us see problems from different perspectives and work together to find the best solution,” Hill said.

Daniel Falabella, a senior studying business management, also said the Innovation Academy provides the proper training to prepare students for future careers and work environments.

“The Innovation Academy has provided a way for me to understand other people and know how to work with them in the future,” Falabella said. “Students will learn the way to deal with unknown issues verses known issues. We’re trying to teach students the process to understand the unknown.”

The Innovation Academy accepts 50 students each year into a separate program designed to help students innovate their own ideas in a professional setting, including opportunities for mentoring and networking.

For more information on the Innovation Academy and workshops visit http://byuia.com/

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