Campus Connection: April 30, 2019

Congratulations to the seven teams that are advancing to the Final Round of the Shocker New Venture Competition, presented by the WSU Center for Entrepreneurship. 

The Seven Advancing Teams:

• Bionic6:
  • Bionic6 is an exoskeleton-based radiation protection system with a lightweight, compact, and adjustable design that prevents traumatic orthopedic injuries and reduces radiation hazards for personnel exposed to radiation.
• Boosted Ideas Lab:
  • A shot-arc developer and confidence booster created for the developing basketball player, the Boost Hoop instantly sparks love for the game and naturally reinforces critical shooting skills.
• DUO Health:   
  • Through secure online patient portals, nurse practitioners will empower patients by providing convenient, affordable prescription birth control options, and timely, discreet, nonjudgmental diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
• Nuria:    
  • Through secure online patient portals, nurse practitioners will empower patients by providing convenient, affordable prescription birth control options, and timely, discreet, nonjudgmental diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.
• PARROT:    
  • PARROT is a portable wireless mouthpiece that maps natural lingual pressure and motion behaviors. PARROT aims to provide a non-invasive diagnostic and therapy tool to address sleep apnea.
• TableTop:    
  • TableTop is a universal progressive web application that integrates with restaurant POS systems, allowing customers to pay their tab on their phone at their convenience.
• TechHead:    
  • TechHead is dedicated to developing bone-conduction technology that will allow employees in noisy environments to maintain hearing protection while allowing employees to effectively communicate in the workplace.

A huge thanks to all of our sponsors of this year’s Shocker New Venture Competition, which includes Foulston Siefkin, GoCreate, IMA Financial Group, INTRUST Bank, High Touch Technologies, Kelley and Jeff DeGraffenreid, Lubrication Engineers, NetWork Kansas, Riverside Health Foundation.

To learn more about the competition, go to wichita.edu/SNVC.

Moderator: Kevin Harrison, Community Engagement Coordinator for the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at Wichita State University\

Panel:

Chief Gordon Ramsay, WPD

Captain Wendell Nicholson, WPD

Alicia Sanchez, Board Chair-Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion-Wichita State University

Riccardo Harris, Executive Director Gear Up-Wichita State University

Larry Burks, President of NAACP-Wichita Chapter and Director of Military and Veteran Services-Wichita State University

Kameelah Alexander, Community Services Representative-Atwater Neighborhood Resource Center

Brandon Johnson, City Council-District I

Dr. Michael Birzer, Professor- Wichita State University

The event is sponsored by the Wichita Police Department, School of Criminal Justice at Wichita State University, and the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement.

First dedicated in June 1906 as Fairmount College’s men’s residence hall (pictured above), Fiske has served many roles over the years, including home to the Department of Music, ROTC, Upward Bound, and the Departments of Philosophy and History.

A century of use and lack of accessibility prompted a major overhaul that included a new elevator wing and a complete renovation of the interior of the main structure. Now complete, Fiske Hall is ready for its next century of service to Shocker Nation. 

Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends are invited to celebrate Wichita State’s oldest surviving building.

The picture above is Fiske Hall in 1906.

WSU Tech embedded training

WSU Tech was recently recognized for its beneficial embedded training support partnership with Spirit AeroSystems in the areas of new hire onboarding, certification training and recertification for skilled workers in production.

WSU Tech has a longstanding relationship with business and industry to support skilled training needs by offering a customized approach that yields notable impact to their bottom lines. In a recent client survey, Spirit reported the following stats in favor of their partnership and services provided through WSU Tech, including:

• $19.8 million in opportunities for increased sales
• $13.2 million in retained revenue
• 2,305 jobs retained as a result of training skilled workers and upskilling workforce
• $87,300 in cost savings that would have otherwise been spent
• And a Net Promoter Score of 10 out of 10, meaning Spirit is very likely to continue this project with WSU Tech.

We applaud WSU Tech’s efforts to make a positive impact on our workforce and economy.

 

Applied learning update

With applied learning and research at the center of everything we do, Shockers in every academic program have unmatched opportunities to gain the valuable real-world experience needed to achieve their career goals.

Recent numbers from the Career Development Center illustrate the positive impact the university’s commitment to applied learning has on our students.

In 2017-18, more than 1,100 WSU students earned $4.9 million in co-op internship wages and gained more than 370,000 hours in professional experience, all while working with nearly 500 different employers.

NIAR programs for Airbus, Spirit AeroSystems and other aviation and manufacturing organizations around the world have led to a 30 percent increase (240 total) in student employment at NIAR and in the Applied Learning Program. NIAR is hiring 60 more students per year than in 2016.

The presence and demonstrated commitments of WSU collaboration with industry and DoD has provided millions of dollars in new funding for advanced research programs. These partnerships are the reason Wichita State ranks first in the nation in industry-financed aeronautical research and development. To put it simply, no other university in the country employs more students in aerospace R&D. And we need more student employees – NIAR is hiring.

The WSU Office of Undergraduate Admissions will now play a larger role of linking newly admitted students to our brand of applied learning, where every student has an experience leading to employment upon graduation. Two offices will be integrated in this approach, Admissions and Career Development. By creating this link, we make our promise of an applied learning experience for every student even more explicit at the moment of being admitted.

 

Strategic Planning town hall – May 2

As the university continues working toward fulfilling its vision and mission, we want to thank all of the faculty, staff, students and community members who help steer the university toward success by volunteering on WSU’s strategic planning activation teams.

These teams form the foundation of the strategic planning process by reviewing the university’s Strategic Plan and ongoing goals—to help it better fulfill its mission to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good.

The teams have engaged more than 160 individuals from campus and the broader Wichita community. On average, 55 persons have attended each of the activation teams’ Tuesday sessions. 

Each team, led by a chair and a co-chair, works through a playbook, provided by the steering committee, which leads the team through guided conversations around critical issues facing the university and higher education. Additionally, the playbook outlines a SWOT analysis format that each team goes through together over the semester.

With the spring semester nearly finished, we’re inviting everyone to a Strategic Planning town hall at 3 p.m., on May 2, in the RSC Beggs Ballroom, where the activation team leaders will share the results of their meetings and make recommendations.

Here’s what you need to do. Enroll in Summer 2019 classes.

• Complete the Summer Aid Application* in your myWSU student portal, under the myFinances tab, under Financial Aid Links.
• Find out all about summer courses at Wichita State here.

*Please allow up to three (3) weeks for processing.

Remember, we’re here to help:

finaid@wichita.edu
316-978-3430 / 1-855-WSU-1STP (24-hour support)
203 Jardine Hall
8 a.m.-6 p.m. (M-T), 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (W-F)