The Wayne State University Innovation Studio, powered by TechTown, invites students to visit its new location in the Industry Innovation Center (I2C) for a variety of free entrepreneurial services and resources.

Funded by the William Davidson Foundation in collaboration with the Office of the Provost, the WSU Innovation Studio is designed to help students on the ideation and prototype stages of business development. The studio is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment only on Friday.

“We are here to help close the confidence gap needed to launch a new business. Many young people want to be entrepreneurs and they have great ideas, but sometimes they face fear, failure and worry that they lack the necessary skills to get started,” said Jenifer Daniels, the studio’s director and entrepreneur-in-residence. “We’re here to act as a connector, catalyst and a champion for WSU students.”

The WSU Innovation Studio provides students with space for brainstorming and collaboration in addition to one-on-one coaching, educational programming and mentorship opportunities.

“We want to build a community of entrepreneurship on campus, which will help students connect with and transition to the entrepreneurial community in Detroit and the broader region,” said Daniels.

In addition to the community at TechTown, the WSU Innovation Studio can help students access local partners, including Build Institute, ProsperUs, SCORE, ACCESS and the Small Business Administration.

Internally, the studio partners with campus resources within the School of Library and Information Sciences; Mike Ilitch School of Business; School of Social Work; College of Engineering; College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts; the Law School Business Clinic; and Tech Commercialization. They also network directly with students through student organizations and learning communities.

The studio provides the following activities throughout the fall and winter semesters:

• Drop-in work days: Access to the studio for co-working, brainstorming and ideation space, along with use of design thinking tools, library and whiteboards.
• Design thinking library: A curated collection of books and resources on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Roadmapping sessions: Scheduled sessions connecting ideas to resources for individuals or groups with a studio team member by appointment.
• Business education: Students can get help taking an idea to launch using online business-plan-creation tools, and/or TechTown’s ‘Ask an Expert’ resource, the DTX Launch summer accelerator, and summer apprenticeship opportunities.
• Curated innovation and entrepreneurship events calendar: Students can view a calendar of innovation and entrepreneurial-related events at events.wayne.edu/entrepreneurship/year
• Pop-up workshops: Workshops themed around the elements of innovation: inspiration, connections, empathy, design, start, refine, practice, productivity and launch. The studio also hosts meetups, business workshops and pitch practice.

To learn more about the WSU Innovation Studio, visit innovationhub.wayne.edu/innostudio or call 313-577-1533.