The last year was jam packed with amazing stories, people, accomplishments, programs, and more! Take a moment to look at and celebrate some of the incredible moments we had, and learn more about our innovation center. We are grateful to all of the students, staff, faculty, organizations, mentors, and community members that are joining us in creating a thriving innovation ecosystem! We cannot wait to see what the rest of this year has in store for all of us. View the Annual Report. 

On Oct. 1st, we brought back the TN Maker Fest for the first in-person gathering in 3-years to celebrate the making happening in Vanderbilt, Nashville, and greater Tennessee. We had a fantastic turn out with over 1,200 people including 52 exhibits with 57 youth and 115 adult exhibitors. Thank you to all our exhibitors who made this a fun and special day for the community! Please mark your calendar for October 7th, 2023 for our next TN Maker Fest.

Social Innovation Bootcamp (Applications due Oct 19th)- Gives Vanderbilt students, staff, faculty, and the Nashville community the opportunity to explore social innovation through an introduction to the social innovation landscape from design thinking to field application. Participants will engage in a 5-week course where they will experience hands-on learning and expand their social innovation network.

This program meets in person every Thursday on the 3rd-floor lounge of the Wond’ry @ 4:30pm–6pm, starting Oct 20, Oct 27, Nov 3, Nov 10 (ESB Room 048), and Nov 17.

Monday Oct 17th Noon - 12:30pm 

https://vanderbilt.zoom.us/j/92745752776

Monday Oct 17th 5pm - 5:30pm 

Over 1,100 first-year students were welcomed by the Wond'ry and attended a VU Visions workshop on Innovation and Design Thinking, called the Marshmallow Tower Challenge. Groups were given spaghetti, string, and tape, and instructed to build the largest tower structure that could hold up their marshmallow. This was a wonderful opportunity to allow all of the first-year students to get a fun and easy introduction to the Wond'ry, and the many resources and programs that they could get involved in. 

This Thursday, Oct 13th, our new Genius Bar tenant Mike Rosengarten will be at the Wond'ry, from 11 AM-12:30 PM. He will assist in explaining venture fundraising terms. As our new entrepreneurs enter the landscape, there is a specific vernacular spoken when it comes to financing their business from bootstrapping, to seed, to pre-seed, to first round…all the way to cap tables, term sheets, SAFE round/notes, etc.! For Virtual engagement, please email thewondry@vanderbilt.edu.

Mike Rosengarten, Wond'ry Mentor & Co-Founder & CEO, Camino.aiMike Rosengarten co-founded Camino, a technology company focused on building better software for a better Government. Camino is an intelligent system of record software streamlining Permitting, Licensing, and other regulated processes in local government. Mike spends the bulk of his time with the product team designing and delivering deeply technical solutions to customers. Before founding Camino, Mike co-found and led Product & Engineering at OpenGov where he built engineering, design, and product teams to build financial reporting, visual analytics, and data workflow platforms. OpenGov became one of the fastest-growing SaaS companies in history in the public sector while he was there. During that time, Mike helped grow the company from a handful of people to nearly 100+, raise $50m+ in venture capital from top-tier investors, and scale their products from 1 to hundreds of customers. Before working in the public sector, much of Mike’s background was in online advertising and he held various positions building software for behavioral targeting, ad optimization, and yield optimization products. Mike holds a BS degree in Computer Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Outside of Camino, Mike enjoys programming, investing in startups, and is studying the shift in how cryptography will bring privacy and economic agency to modern society.    

There is always something going on at the Wond'ry!

The FAB Lab is offering three different types of workshops this month: Sewing, Embroidery, and Upcycling. Click here to register. 

Sewing Workshop, Tier 1: will teach basic hand and machine skills. This workshop is required for anyone who wants to come to the lab to do sewing. Applications of your new knowledge will include: sewing on buttons; clothing repairs; making personally designed pillows and tote bags.

Embroidery Workshop: Do you want to learn a fun, easy, and relaxing way to personalize your clothing? Unwind after a long day of classes by learning the basics of embroidery! You will sketch out a simple design of your choice and learn how to embroider it onto a small decorate hoop. All supplies provided by the Wond'ry; just bring a positive, creative mindset!

Mend, Alter, Upcycle Workshop (just in time for Halloween!): Follow-up to the Tier 1 Basic hand and machine sewing workshops. Bring a piece of clothing to alter or mend, or perhaps to tweak for your Halloween costume. We can work with you on hemming, mending, and basic alterations. (Please note, you must complete Sewing Tier 1 to participate in the Upcycling Workshop).

Each workshop will last approximately 1 1/2 hours and each workshop will be capped at 12 participants.The workshops will be taking place at the Fiber Arts Build Lab, 2nd Floor Makerspaces of the Wond'ry.

Patrick Leddin | Oct. 24 | 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM | ESB 048. Click here to register. 

Harvard Business Review published a study of 17,000 leaders, which found that the average person receives their first formal leadership role at age 30 and their first formal leadership training at 42. Leadership is tough enough, but the 12-year gap exacerbates the problem. Plus, when the training arrives, it's often costly, time-consuming, and ineffective. Patrick and his team are working to close that gap by putting leadership development in the palm of your hand with relevant, engaging, and valuable content. Attend the session to learn what you can do today to become the leader you want to be. In addition, join the 103,000 people who follow and learn from him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickleddin/

(Únase a Beatriz Ordaz Ramírez y Becca Blank de Voces de Nashville mientras hablan de qué es un negocio cooperativo y cómo el suyo promueve la justicia económica y lingüística dentro de las comunidades a las que pertenecen. Pizza gratis y interpretación en español!)

 Click here to register (haga clic para registrarse)!

Friday, October 28, 2022, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, 3rd Floor, the Wond’ry
Viernes 28 de octubre 2022, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, The Wondr’y, 3er piso 

Electrical Design Specialist, Makerspaces - Learn more & Apply

Program Manager, Innovation & Design Research - Learn more & Apply

Hub Coordinator, Mid-South Innovation Hub - Learn More & Apply

Program Coordinator, Innovation Facilitation - Learn More & Apply

Program Coordinator, Innovation & Design Research - Learn more & Apply

Student Experience Program Coordinator - Learn more & Apply

The Hult Prize Pitch Competition - is a global challenge to encourage students to solve our generation's most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship. The Competition kicked off last month with the announcement of the 2023 Hult Challenge: redesigning fashion to make it more sustainable.

 At this time next year, global finalists will compete for $1M for their startup. Why does this matter today? Our local competition here at Vanderbilt will be taking place on November 12th, with the first-place team receiving $1,000 per team member to travel to our regional competition. All other teams who progress will be given $1,000 per team.

Registration for the Hult @ Vanderbilt is now open! Register here by Wednesday, October 21! The competition is open to both graduate and undergraduate students. You are not required to have an idea or a team to sign up. If you are interested in this year's challenge or just pitch competitions in general, check out the registration page or the Hult Prize website for more info.

The Wond’ry is proud to support the Diane Von Furstenberg InCharge Pitch Night!

They will be selecting female entrepreneurs from the fashion, retail, and consumer goods space for the live event. If you or anyone you know would be interested in applying, please submit via email to InCharge@dvf.com:

1 minute video: give us your quick elevator pitch, and make sure your smiling face is in it!

Pitch deck: 5 slides max, outlining your business mission, where you’re at and what you want to accomplish in the future!

Confirmation that you can attend, in person, the November 3rd event in NYC. If selected as a finalist, you will be presenting your pitch in front of our panel of judges and InCharge community.

Prize list: $10K in micro-funding from IRL Ventures, free 90-minute strategy session with IRL Ventures team, placement in our DVF Flagship, placement in Showfields Noho, a seat in Vanderbilt University’s Wond’ry entrepreneurship course for one semester, mentorship from Lindsay Albanese and up to $500 in patent funding from The Fileist’s “be a fileist” grant program, legal and business advisory services from Fixer Advisory, a feature on DVF socials and a chance to be a DVF Woman

However, regardless of winning the first prize for the evening, all participants will benefit from an evening of networking, mingling with industry professionals, and being celebrated for their talents and efforts.

Applications are due Oct. 21.

By making your tax-deductible gift to our Wond’ry Student Project Fund, you help us award students with the funding they need to turn their ideas into reality. Donate here.