The Teaching Table

Incorporating Entrepreneurial Skills in Teaching

• University at Buffalo Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation • Episode 11

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Curiosity becomes a catalyst when a university treats innovation as a shared language, not a side path. We sit down with Hadar Borden, Director of the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory at the University at Buffalo, to unpack how a campus-wide ecosystem helps students and faculty turn ideas into impact. Hadar takes us inside a model that blends master classes, innovation sprints, and design challenges with hands-on mentorship from venture coaches, experts and entrepreneurs-in-residence. 

Maggie Grady:

Welcome to the CATT Teaching Table Podcast, where we explore innovative teaching methods and dynamic educational strategies, hosted by the University of Buffalo's Office of Curriculum Assessment and Teaching Transformation, otherwise known as CATT, and supported by the Gen teel's Excellence and Teaching Fund. This podcast is dedicated to highlighting the journeys toward educational excellence. I'm your host, Maggie Grady, Instructional Innovation Project Manager for CATT, and today we have an inspiring episode for you. We're diving into entrepreneurship, innovation, and how these critical skills are encouraged in higher education. Our special guest today is Hadar Borden, Director of the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory at the University of Buffalo. Hadar, welcome to the show.

Hadar Borden:

Thanks so much for inviting me to participate in the podcast, Maggie. I'm excited to be here and share more about the work we're doing at the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory.

Maggie Grady:

I'm excited too. We go back. You and I have met each other way, way, way back where I was excited to kind of take this new initiative with innovation at UB. And I immediately thought of you. I thought, oh my gosh, Hadar is perfect for this podcast, and I want to hear all everything that you have to say. So with that being said, so to begin, can you tell our listeners as well as myself a little bit about the mission of the Startup and the Innovation collaboratory? And then, furthermore, what is the vision behind its creation and how is it serving students, faculty, as well as the community?

Hadar Borden:

Terrific. Well, thank you for that. So we are truly a Startup. We launched campus in 2016 with the support of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. We were one of five campuses in New York State to receive the grant. And since then we've truly taken off on this campus. And our focus has always been to support entrepreneurship and innovation on this campus and really cultivate that, the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation at UB. It's always been inherent in our campus in everything that we do, but it's about how we can inspire and empower our students to be innovative and entrepreneurial in their thinking. So we say that we support our students to build their entrepreneurial skills, their mindset, to build companies and their careers because we know that the world that they're graduating into is really requiring individuals that have the ability to identify problems and solve those problems creatively, being able to demonstrate that they're resourceful in solving those problems, influencing others, all the skills that entrepreneurs need to be successful. Our students need to be successful in whatever journey they take beyond college. So it's all about igniting and empowering them.

Maggie Grady:

So how does the Collaboratory tie into the broader vision of entrepreneurship at UB? And I think you touched base on that already, but a little bit further.

Hadar Borden:

Yeah, I think you know, everything that we're doing is again around these innovation skills and entrepreneurship skills. We focus on in encouraging our things to think creatively, to have the growth mindset, to practice their leadership in whichever domain that they're in, both as leading projects but also others, and we're also thinking encouraging them to think critically on this campus. And that's everywhere across campus. We're trying to encourage students to think critically in the classroom, and then as they're applying those skills outside of the classroom in research in experiences where they're maybe starting businesses, right? But really think how they might be able to contribute to the world once they leave our university.

Maggie Grady:

So what type of programs and resources does the Collaboratory offer the students looking for to develop their entrepreneurial skills?

Hadar Borden:

So some of my colleagues would say maybe too many resources and experiences, but I'll start here, master classes, right? So workshops is another word to describe them, and they're offered remotely. So students anywhere from our three different campuses and our community members can tune in and skill up. So master classes is a way for them to gain entrepreneurial skills, whether they're studying geography or psychology, business, engineering, we want to make sure that all students can have access to this knowledge. So master classes, we host innovation sprints, and we'll get into that in a little bit. Again, allowing them to the opportunity to take what they're learning in the classroom and apply it to real-world company experiences. We host design challenges that help our students understand emerging industries and topics. So think about like climate change. We have Pitch for a Purpose, which is a design challenge. We hosted a design challenge around the automotive industry in AI for good. So different experiences, and then we deliver content in the classroom collaborating with faculty on innovation sprints. here's, you know, everyone always loves an entrepreneurship center that has gives away money, right? So lots of competitions and we have those big uh checks. really an opportunity for again for students to take what they're learning, apply it, demonstrate what they are building, and help them gain their confidence. Those are some of the programs that we offer through our program.

Maggie Grady:

What kind of support do students receive beyond those programs that you just mentioned, which are seem fabulous? For example, are there networking opportunities or access to mentorship?

Hadar Borden:

Absolutely. So every Thursday, 4:30 in our office, students host Innovating Caffeine. It is a light networking opportunity for them to meet someone that they might not have a class with, somebody that might join their venture, give them an idea, a different approach, because it's all about making connections, you know, those collisions. And sometimes they happen in the classroom, but it's nice for them to also happen outside of the classroom and to gain perspective from students in different fields. and so Innovate in Caffeine is one of our signature programs that again is hosted by students for students. We also host venture coaching support. so it's a holistic approach where venture coaches guide students through the process of starting a business. So a student will walk into our space. We have a lemonade stand because your first experience as an entrepreneur is selling what?

Maggie Grady:

Lemonade.

Hadar Borden:

There you go. And so it's a fun way for them to be welcomed into our space. It's different, and that's what we're all about as entrepreneurs and innovators to kind of break the mold and think creatively. And so we did that when we designed our space. But when a student walks into the lemonade stand and has an idea and they need to be guided through the process, we have venture coaches. Much like a trainer at a gym, they are gonna guide you, but they're not gonna do the work. and so our venture coaches work with the students, and then we have experts and residents, and these are alumni and friends that wrap around the student from different functional areas. So think about like accountants or someone that's a brand helps a student with branding or marketing, or someone thinks about their financial model. These are resources that students have at their disposal. And then as the student ventures mature and are ready for additional guidance, we connect them with our entrepreneurs and residents. And again, these are alumni and friends of the university that have started businesses and some cases have sold them, had them acquired, and so they're ready to really pour in their experience and knowledge to our students to help lift their ideas forward. So those are some of the resources. In addition, we've got on our website a link to all of the resources that have been curated by our student entrepreneurs. So as they identify um different books and podcasts, we have these 101 sheets on how to pitch, how to develop an executive uh summary, right? Things that we're constantly asking our students to produce, we've created content that will guide them through that process.

Maggie Grady:

Oh, that's nice.

Hadar Borden:

Yeah.

Maggie Grady:

You take all that guesswork away. I love it.

Hadar Borden:

We try.

Maggie Grady:

Yeah. So you mentioned earlier that the Collaboratory also supports faculty. Can you share some examples of how faculty members engage with the Collaboratory?

Hadar Borden:

Sure. So in the sense that we support faculty in partnering with them in the classroom and outside of the classroom. so one of our chief areas is around the the concept of innovation sprints. Similar to like a Google Sprint or if you think about it like a case study, we go into the classroom and partner with a faculty member on what they're teaching and help teach the students and facilitate creative problem solving, but within the context of the curriculum. So for example, I've hosted with occupational therapy, gone in and facilitated creative problem solving around aging and how might we create products and solutions to support our aging population in so that the students are guided through that process, and by the end of the class, they've identified one solution that they're working on presenting for our aging innovation challenge. we also have collaborated with management faculty. There's a freshman seminar that I'll be going into this semester where we're focusing on the corporate social responsibility of each of the companies. So each class is broken up into teams. Each team has been assigned an organization that they're studying, they're learning about their corporate social responsibility as it is right now, but then they're taking it a step further and looking at how they're going to innovate through a lens of Gen Z. So we're again facilitating an innovation sprint to help the students learn the skills of creative problem solving, but then apply them. And we do that in a variety of classes. So we've created a new role for faculty to be in partnership with our office, and that's the Faculty Innovation Fellows. So it's an opportunity for faculty to contribute to our effort, but also to level up their skills and how they're educating their students.

Maggie Grady:

Right. It sounds like the Collaboratory also plays a role in fostering collaboration between the university and the local community. Can you speak to some of the partnerships or community initiatives that you've developed?

Hadar Borden:

Sure. So we have worked in partnership with some organizations like Tech Buffalo as a great example and 43 North. 43 North hosts the largest business plan competition in the world right here in Buffalo, and we've collaborated with them to bring our students out to this fabulous celebration of entrepreneurship in Western New York. But what we learned early on is that we don't want to only have the students be there to watch the we want them to truly experience and be inspired to be on that stage someday. and we wanted to connect them with Western New York business and community leaders. That's really important. And so we collaborated with Tech Buffalo to host what we called a tech rally. So imagine you know, you go to a football game, you have a pep rally just before, and so this tech rally um we hosted to bring students together, um, help them network with each other, but also community members and business leaders. So that's a really good example of how we're kind of bridging, connecting the dots, both on campus and into the community. And we also host a program called Inclusive Launch, and that's a program that's hosted in our spring semester where students from diverse backgrounds are introduced to entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship, being an innovator within an organization. And so the students are in a 14-week co-curricular experience, and then they're placed in an internship with a local startup. So they're getting that entrepreneurship experience at the same time. Um, and we're helping our startups in this Western New York community really fill some gaps with our student talent. Um, and finally, I'll just say design challenges. So again, these are ways that we can bring emerging topics and industries to help our students understand where they might innovate and contribute. And so we we lean on industry experts to help uh provide the learning sessions for these design challenges. And then there are mentors and reactors and judges for the competition. So there's a constant in and out flow of friends of the university, industry experts, business leaders in the community working with our students.

Maggie Grady:

So, how do you measure the impact of the Collaboratory in terms of student outcomes in the broader community? So it's a great question.

Hadar Borden:

I think we're still trying to figure that out on our campus. you know, the easy way is student engagement. we can measure that, how many students are voting with their feet, coming to programs and being engaged, and that's we typically have about 10,000 students that we engage annually. we host about a hundred events uh per semester, which keeps us all very busy. But I think the the beauty of what we do is we help our students connect with one another, feel supported and inspired. They get that sense of belonging on this campus. entrepreneurs often feel that they're like the lone wolf, they're on their own, and we're providing that support. But we're also supporting our students to be innovators beyond college and helping them in their career readiness, right?

Hadar Borden:

Their employability and their career mobility. So we're still young in our evolution, so I'll get back to you on all the numbers as we move forward.

Maggie Grady:

Well, it already sounds like you're making a great impact. So okay, so as we wrap up, what's on the horizon for the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory? And are there any exciting new initiatives or partnerships that we should keep an eye on?

Hadar Borden:

Absolutely. So as I mentioned, we are looking to expand our current pilot program of the Faculty Innovation Fellows. So that's on the horizon. Just last summer we launched the sophomore externship experience with the support of the Apprentice Family Foundation, and that is to offer an opportunity for students that are just finishing their sophomore year at UB, at a college or university in Western New York, or who gained their high school diploma and they graduated from a Western New York high school to complete an internship and what we're calling an externship in the Western New York community. So, really to provide them that first exit, that first opportunity to understand what's out there in the professional world for them. And it's an elevated internship because we really offer some wraparound professional development. So that was launched last summer, and we are looking to expand that program. We had 47 students participate in summer 24. We're looking to increase that this year and increase the number of host sites in the community.

Maggie Grady:

Wow, that's exciting.

Hadar Borden:

Yes.

Maggie Grady:

Hadar, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your insights on the Startup and Innovative Collaboratory. It's inspiring. It's super inspiring to hear about the work that's being done to empower the students, the faculty, the community, and turn into real-world ventures. I love all of that. So I'm so happy that you um honored us with coming in and talking with us. So, do you have any final thoughts um that you'd like to share with our listeners?

Hadar Borden:

Embrace the opportunities that come before you. Always say yes and and always pursue that wild and crazy idea that you have.

Maggie Grady:

So, for those that want to learn more, be sure to check out the Startup and Innovation Collaboratory webpage. And that's buffalo.edu slash entrepreneurship. Is there more to that? I think it that was the website that I put. Thank you to our listeners for tuning in to this episode of the Teaching Table Podcast. If you enjoyed today's discussion, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. We'll be back soon with more conversations on exploring the latest in teaching innovations and strategies. And until then, keep exploring new ways to reach and inspire your students. As always, be sure to connect with us online at buffalo.edu slash catt that's C A T T or email us at ubcatt @buffalo.edu.