Innovation

Transcript

Sacred Heart prides itself on its commitment to innovation, after all, they are pioneers, that applies everywhere, the classroom, the athletic field and onstage, but the place you can find that the most is in the IDEA Lab. Please meet, Gabe, a computer engineering student from the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology who is here to tell us more, Gabe.

– Thanks, Alex. When I was applying to college, I wanted to choose a place that felt like my home away from home, but also inspired me to grow. Sacred Heart’s small class sizes compared to being in a big lecture hall, really pushed me to commit. SHU never stops at status quo, it teaches its students to lead and succeed. The world and its future is going to depend on young minds, bringing fresh takes, solutions and creative ideas. At Sacred Heart we take that seriously through having the right faculty and facilities for students to be at that front. For those of us who were interested, we came together to create what today has evolved into the IDEA Lab. IDEA standing for innovate, design, engineer, apply. It’s my favorite spot on campus where I’d spend most of my time working on projects, hanging with friends and training others in digital fabrication. The lab is equipped with machines ranging from 3D printers to an electronics area with an array of sensors, a characterization lab for performing your own biology and chemistry experiments and a textile room for embroidery, sewing and vinyl cutting. It’s staffed with experienced professionals and students like me who were there to help you to become self-sufficient in making your dreams a reality. There is truly no better feeling than seeing a project come to life and sharing that joy with the friends you made along the way. Drones are everywhere nowadays and the engineering program here at SHU really embraces the technology as a teaching tool. Students learn how to design the hardware and tune the software to get their drones up and flying. We’re lucky to have a Quanser Autonomous Vehicles Research Studio where students have the opportunity to learn how to program the drones and ground bots to complete tasks autonomously. SHU really pushes the idea of helping technology and business meld together by hosting events geared towards helping young entrepreneurs have the tools and resources that they need to drive their ideas forward and even onto shelves. Having the opportunity to work with passionate professors and mentors alongside other like-minded individuals really helped me to go out into the world. Well, that’s it for me, back to you, Alex.

– Thanks Gabe, for showing us around the IDEA Lab and telling us about your work. It’s such a great place to find students of all majors and it is full of opportunity. Great work, take care, Gabe.