The Innovation Hub at McMillan Hall was built to help enable students to pursue and explore their entrepreneurial projects and goals. Located at 1806 Lincolnway on the northern edge of the campus, it is a center for innovative, cutting-edge resources and a place for all Valpo students, alumni, and community members to combine brilliant minds to accomplish goals and work together as a group.
Made possible by a near $1.4 million donation by the late Deborah ``Deb” A. Spannraft, used as the initial investment to establish the program and support the operations inside the Innovation Hub. Spannraft graduated from Valparaiso University’s College of Business with a bachelor of science in business administration with a major in accounting. She worked for Miller Brewing Company and worked her way up to the director of accounting where she retired. Prior to housing the Innovation Hub, the building was originally a bank donated by Stewart McMillan, CEO of Task Force Tips, and named in memory after his father Chief Clyde McMillan, founder of Task Force Tips.
The Innovation Hub launched its Micro-Workshop series for the 2021-2022 academic year. A series of seminars to educate students, alumni, faculty, and staff in business practices and models to help grow respective organizations and navigate potential scenarios that major businesses face in real-time.
The Blockchain and Cryptocurrency in Business: Current Trends seminar kicked off the Micro-Workshop series on October 22nd. Professor Gingerich orchestrated the class by teaching attendees how to secure transactions by generating encryption keys and/or encrypting or cyphering. With a push to adopt a universal currency such as cryptocurrency, to guarantee transparency, decentralization, protection from piracy, and assurance of immutability, Blockchain can help accomplish these goals. These skills will be useful for future entrepreneurs in their endeavors.
On November 17th, the COVID-Resistant Global Supply Chains workshop, administered by Professor Kumar, introduced the field of Supply Chain Management that aids businesses in making decisions and to be resilient against unforeseen events that could damage the company financially. Participants were taught using real-world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic impact financially on businesses worldwide.
Professor Jha will be administering the Business Analytics: Big Data for Decision-Making, on December 17th. Located at Urschel Hall in Room 202 and beginning at 4:30 PM CST, students will learn how to utilize new-age analytical tools in their decision making. The aim for partakers is to formulate ideas and decisions using the real datasets used by major businesses and organizations today and moving forward.
The final workshop, Systems Architecting: Designing Systems That Work, will be held on January 21st. Administered by Professor Maguire at Urschel Hall in Room 202 at 4:30 PM CST, participants will learn how to architect the everyday systems that simplify our lives and work. They will learn how to create systems with value and configuration in mind during the process.
Seating is limited for these workshops so make sure to RSVP today to save yourself a seat today! Bring a tablet or smartphone for in-session activities and notes.