Written by: Nick Swayne
Published by: Campus Technology
MBA News Digest Comment: None.
Extracted Content: In higher education, we’re preparing students for the real world. This means giving them hands-on experience finding solutions to problems that they might encounter when they are in the workforce. At James Madison University in Virginia we took this approach when we created our version of an innovation space: JMU X-Labs.
If you want to have a program that truly prepares students — that is, one that teaches collaboration and critical thinking skills, draws students from all disciplines and supports innovative real-world projects — you have to start by making sure you have the right equipment and the right technology to handle the types of projects students will be working on. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to this. JMU X-Labs offers a great lesson on the importance of creating multiple iterations — and learning from each one — in order to ensure the lab is successful.