Education Update: A New Era of Innovation - The Ignite Program at the University of Florida

By Lauren Heighton, Staff Writer

Universities in Florida are investing in engineering students by providing enrichment opportunities to explore. This new era of innovation is well-represented by the Engineering Innovation Institute (EII) at the University of Florida, which focuses on developing student creativity and entrepreneurship.

The Ignite Program, an offshoot of the EII, is a catalyst for innovation for student entrepreneurs. The student-run program includes classes, mentorship and alumni events that encourage students to pursue new ideas and provide resources to launch.

Grace Winkler, a master’s in mechanical engineering student at UF, serves as the director of Ignite. Just last September, the program began in its current form with general body members and weekly events for students. Winkler and the team from the EII developed the programming aiming to enhance the experiences of students.

“We realized that we needed more students taking a more active role in this community of innovation – not just engineering students, but students across campus,” said Winkler.

The Makeup Of Ignite

Bringing the student-led organization to life may have been a recent success, but Ignite has already spread rapidly. Student coordinators are responsible for planning and maintaining their respective programs, and general body members are encouraged to participate across the board.

Ignite is comprised of resources like the Spark Studio center for mentorship and the L3 Harris Speaker Series, which brings in alumni and industry leaders to share their successes. Additionally, the Immersion Program connects students with entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial programs to provide hands-on experiences.

The relatively new program is already bringing passion projects to life. One student brought their idea of producing 3D filament from recycled plastic, and Ignite connected them with a key source.

“We were able to connect them with this environmental park where they can have almost an unlimited supply of plastics that they can help take that off of their hands, and also try to come up with the solution for their startup company,” said Winkler.

Ignite Goes Worldwide

To finish her master’s degree, Winkler will travel to Berlin, Germany this summer to study abroad at Florida Innovation and Architecture University through her program.

Tommy Duque, a rising junior at UF, participated in the Berlin study abroad program on its inaugural trip last summer. Students had experiential learning opportunities as they spoke to entrepreneurs and visited incubators in the city. At the same time, they completed a project that spanned an engineering innovation class and entrepreneurship class.

“It's really cool because you're able to carry your project from the innovation class, which is all about ideation and different methods of getting through problems,” Duque said. “And you're able to take your business idea and then actually run with it in the entrepreneurship class.”

Back Home in Florida

Duque is an innovation mentor in Ignite, with his main task being a mentor and resource for other students. He acts as a teaching assistant for courses in the program and hosts office hours for students to bring their ideas, whether fully fleshed out or just beginning, and make progress towards innovation.

“Students are able to come in with their projects on any level, so it could be a student coming in saying, ‘I want to be an entrepreneur, I don't have any ideas,’ and you can brainstorm with them or you have someone come in who's like, ‘Look, this is my prototype,’” he said.

From new pickleball paddle technologies to user-friendly apps that help with communicating using AI, there is a wide variety of projects that enter Spark Studio.

Program Success

Students at UF are at the beginning of their journeys as engineers and entrepreneurs, but the success stories of graduates are already rolling in.

Alan Hamlett and Matt Bellman, both past engineering students, are one of these success stories. They created a therapeutic exercise system, Myolyn. This technology can be used at home and in clinics, making functional movement possible for those with muscle weakness or paralysis.

The alumni and creators of Myolyn returned to UF this year to share their innovation with Ignite members as part of the end-of-year celebration.

“They point-blank said that they would not have gone through this past decade of entrepreneurship and helping people across the country that experience these kinds of conditions without the help of our director and the classes and the mentorship that they received from our programming,” said Winkler.

The impact of that innovation is just one of the many emerging from the EII, and further inventions will echo the transformative experiences Ignite offers.

“(EII is) not focused on making every student an entrepreneur,” Duque said.“It's focused on trying to instill that entrepreneurial spirit within students so that they go on to whatever career they may be in and provide valuable insight to their company, no matter their role.

“Providing that innovation and that drive that I feel like isn't taught in the regular engineering classroom is going above and beyond.”

Ignite is comprised of resources like the Spark Studio center for mentorship and the L3 Harris Speaker Series, which brings in alumni and industry leaders to share their successes.