{"id":2005,"date":"2017-08-08T15:05:51","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T15:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/makexyz.wpengine.com\/?page_id=2005"},"modified":"2020-11-30T17:11:55","modified_gmt":"2020-11-30T22:11:55","slug":"consortium","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/makeimpactconsortium.com\/consortium\/","title":{"rendered":"Consortium"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Make Impact Consortium<\/strong>\u00a0is for universities, companies and public agencies who understand that technology innovation is first and foremost about people, and value the importance of joining a like-minded community for mutual learning and benefit.<\/p>\n

For centuries, makers have made great entrepreneurs, inventors, and industry leaders<\/strong>. Making and entrepreneurship in the 21st century taps into these timeless activities. Just as computers have shrunk from room size to fit into our pockets, we can now have maker machines on our desks that previously were only found on factory floors. This made a difference because it allowed entrepreneurs to convert ideas into technological innovations. This marriage of making and entrepreneurship is in part what sparked the current maker revolution.<\/p>\n

Making and entrepreneurship are more about culture and people than about facilities and equipment. On college campuses, many students are driven to develop their entrepreneurial skills and explore their creative ideas. Students from myriad backgrounds and interests are flocking to makerspaces to learn skills, meet other like-minded students, build things for classes and research projects, and explore new product ideas. Students become good at creating things for many reasons. They make impact if these reasons address real needs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Makerspaces support the current trend in education of learning by doing. They provide students with resources to create rapid prototypes and multiple iterations, and encourage them to innovate by networking with others and forming teams within their community. Makerspaces are an important ingredient to the strong entrepreneurial ecosystem that students are looking for and future employers value.<\/strong> Universities recognize the value of enhancing their entrepreneurship programing, maker facilities and culture for the benefit of students, faculty, alumni, employers and the larger community and economy. This can extend beyond the university \u2014 impacting technology innovation ecosystems in cities and regions around the globe.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We will create a new means to radically augment key elements of innovation ecosystems \u2014 culture\/community, human capital and infrastructure access. In parallel, we will work with our network of partners to influence other core elements \u2014 Policies, Industry and Finance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We invite you to explore membership opportunities and benefits:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nUniversities<\/span>
\n

Many universities desire to achieve or maintain a competitive advantage<\/em><\/strong> by cultivating a culture of making\u00a0on campus to meet current student demand, attract talented prospective students, and broaden the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem on campus. They recognize the importance of students who know how to think, make, and do<\/em><\/strong>. Many universities learn the hard way that a room with machines is not necessarily a makerspace and alone doesn\u2019t foster entrepreneurship. More is needed to make a vibrant ecosystem and the Make Impact Consortium’s Mobius platform<\/a> will provide tools to fill in the gaps.<\/p>\n

Founding members of the Make Impact Consortium will have the unique opportunity to help shape the dialogue with other academic institutions at various stages in the process, as well as interact with a select group of corporate members.<\/p>\n

Founding members have indicated they would value joining the consortium to exchange best practices about:<\/p>\n