Innovation Garage
Innovation Garage
Partnering student-led teams with corporations needing innovative solutions
The Wond’ry’s Innovation Garage program pairs a corporate sponsor with teams of Vanderbilt students and faculty to design and develop creative responses to an issue or project identified by the sponsor.
Garage teams are built to bring together diverse, interdisciplinary viewpoints and introduce new ideas and solutions to the sponsor company. Guided by Vanderbilt faculty members, students get a chance to flex their problem-solving skills in a real-world application and then intern with or apply for a position with the sponsor. At the end of the program, in addition to being presented with a fully realized and developed prototype for their project, sponsors have the opportunity to gain employees already familiar with their corporate culture and needs. It’s a win-win partnership!
Companies interested in making use of this unique opportunity and participating in the Innovation Garage program should email Wond’ry Assistant Director Deanna Meador.
Undergraduate and graduate students interested in applying for the program should plan for a 3 hour course each semester in both the fall and spring semesters. Students participating are recommended not to exceed 18 hours of coursework per semester. Students should be able to commit 5-10 hours per week to the project outside of their coursework.
Applications for the 2019-2020 Innovation Garage Cohort are now open. Any Vanderbilt students that will be a sophomore or above during the 2019-20 academic year is eligible to apply (including Owen students and other graduate students).
RGP Consulting
2018 Robotics Process Automation and Future of Work Team
Accenture Cohort 2017-18
Blockchain Team
The Blockchain Team (Alex Roed, Josiah Holland, Amy Chen, Alex Reed, Jackson Davis, Dana Zhang, Bob Chen, and Brendan Broderick) was given a challenge to explore the potential applications for blockchain technology in the procurement space and after researching this emerging technology, talking with subject matter experts, and considering the business case and market, they developed an innovative platform designed to eliminate process inefficiencies for managing supplier-buyer relationships.
Retail Team
The Retail Team (John Kim, Cindy Son, Kaan Aykac, Claire Fogarty, and Amy Chen) was given a broad problem statement to generate ideas for solutions that could allow retailers to remain competitive in a highly disrupted industry. They explored several potential solutions and in the end, built a web interface and machine learning algorithm that allows retailers to generate real-time recommendations.
Accenture Cohort 2016-17
Invent Team- Oil and Gas
The Invent Team (Pat McGowan, Jess Banasiak, and Luke Price) were given a broad problem statement around antiquated technology for remote monitoring in the oil and gas industry and after researching the industry, talking with subject matter experts, and considering the business case and market, they developed an innovative solution around one of the most expensive parts of post-production- water hauling.
Disrupt Team- Aerospace and Defense
The Disrupt Team (Josh Forges, Parker Sarsfield, and Kevin Zhang) were tasked with examining factors causing supply chain lateness. They explored several potential solutions and in the end, built a predictive analytics algorithm that allows those working in procurement to focus their energy and efforts on the parts most likely to cause delays.