On Monday, May 11 in the new Binghamton University Downtown Center, students from the Catalyst for Intellectual Capital Leadership Institute (CIC-LI) presented their final projects in front of scores of community representatives. The students, ranging from freshmen to seniors and from a cross-section of majors, flowed through four major themes to address region-wide “brain gain” issues: connect, engage, educate, and innovate.
The outbound director of Catalyst for Intellectual Capital 2020 (CIC2020), Kathryn Fletcher, introduced CIC-LI and their final projects by defining change as opportunity. The theme carried throughout the presentation as students identified best practices and made recommendations for connecting, engaging, educating, and innovating to retain young professionals and grow intellectual capital.
CONNECT
Students from the “connect” group talked about the importance of regional marketing through new media outlets to promote the area’s quality of life. Successful tactics, they suggested, could increase global and international awareness. Some best practices were identified as Broome Community College’s presence on iTunesU and GrafiQa‘s innovative marketing techniques as a growing southern-tier business. Their recommendations included building reputations and relationships through campus sports teams, using more progressive technology for connecting students, and focusing on the region’s quality of life assets.
ENGAGE
The “engage” group discussed community service, civic engagement, and community integration as essential teaching tools in college. Many students graduate with science and technology degrees, but the group argued that service learning and experiential learning are equally (if not more) important. Southern Tier Young Professionals (STYP) was identified as a regional best practice, and students recommended that more classes offer the opportunity to get out of the classroom and into the community for memorable discussions and learning.
EDUCATE
The next group of students talked about the many parts of the education system, stressing the importance of networking, forming partnerships, and finding meaningful internships. The “educate” group identified some knowledge gaps between professional opportunities or resources and university students. Best practices included BU’s Strategic Partnership for Industrial Resurgence (SPIR) and Chicago Semester. One of the recommendations was for a greater university presence in local high schools to prepare younger students for higher education.
INNOVATE
The final group presented the importance of new technology, new industry, and new business development. Members of the “innovate” group touched on several topics like research partnerships, green entrepreneurship, tech transfer, and incubation. Best practices were identified within the Binghamton community as Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo’s vision for a Green Collar Economy and the university’s Think Binghamton initiative. Students also identified some successful ventures that came from incubation centers within the region: H2Innovations and NotePig.com. Senior Ankesh Arora suggested that colleges and universities are to the intellectual revolution as the steam engine was to the industrial revolution: the important catalyst for connecting opportunities with resources.
Jodi Epstein, the incoming director of CIC2020, concluded the presentation by discussing her ideas for next year’s CIC-LI. She plans to motivate the group with creativity and innovation and focus on transformational entrepreneurship. She also plans to maintain relationships with organizations like IBM s390 “New Blue” and Pipeline 4 Progress.
Dr. Diane Crews is the faculty advisor and “motivator” for CIC2020 and CIC-LI. Her class has been praised throughout the region as an important and necessary asset to link students with their community. However, Dr. Crews said, the class is successful because “I have 200 co-instructors,” referencing the public support for these students and initiatives.
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To add some commentary, Pipeline 4 Progress and our stakeholders will benefit greatly from browsing the CIC-LI Final Projects and putting serious consideration into the students’ recommendations. The class and the entire CIC2020 organization is indeed a “best practice” in our region, and through collaborative efforts and education, hopefully more colleges and universities will adopt this initiative and replicate it in their own institutions and communities!
