Innovation Fellows

Announcements

About the Innovation Fellows Cohort Program

The West Houston Institute Innovation Fellows program is designed to facilitate the development of personal creativity that leads to the innovation of our professional practices to generate impactful change across Houston Community College.

Personal creativity…

The first element of our program involves personal change. Creativity is part of who we are as living beings. Each of us should strive to develop our unique creative identity throughout our lives. If we don’t change and grow ourselves, then we will never be able to effect real change in the world.

…that leads to the innovation of our professional practices…

Once the foundation of our personal creative identity has been established, we can begin to apply that creativity to the activities around us. The Fellows program isn’t only about improving ourselves–it is also about improving the lives of our students and peers through our professional practice. How can we innovate our daily work?

…to generate impactful change across Houston Community College.

Our philosophy is that the work of the Innovation Fellows is to be generative, not cumulative. This means that the ways in which we find to innovate in our own lives can generate change beyond our immediate spheres of influence. We want Innovation Fellows to be the beginning of a pursuit of innovation that scales across the entire culture of Houston Community College and changes the institution for the better.

Program Elements

The Innovation Fellows program has ambitious goals which will take meaningful effort to accomplish. While we feel that innovation needs some space and flexibility to flourish, we do expect a weekly commitment to the program and the work that it involves. As they say, no pain no gain–even with creativity and innovation! As an Innovation Fellow you will be expected to engage in the following:

Weekly Creative Collaboratives

Each Friday, we will gather as a cohort at the West Houston. These gatherings are approximately four hours and will include both discussions around a weekly theme as well as connected activities to engage you creatively. Generally, we will hold these meetings at an agreed upon set time but will occasionally need to reschedule or adjust times to allow for other institutional obligations, such as Faculty Senate.

Way of the Innovator Online Course

To prepare for the weekly meetings, you will use our Canvas course, “The Way of the Innovator,” where each of you have been enrolled. Each week we will have an instructional module to prepare you for the topics and conversations for the approaching Friday. Please be diligent about checking in with the online platform prior to that Friday’s meeting, as it will serve both as an introduction to the Creative Collaborative theme for the week and a means to share information beyond what time allows for in the group meetings.

Independent & Cohort Projects

Finally, there will be innovation challenges that you will participate in both on your own as well as with other members of the cohort and WHI staff and mentors. In the first semester, you will begin to determine your individual project, which may be determined by your own interest or in collaboration with your department or program. You will also be assigned a team with whom you will work to develop a micro-project in the Fall semester.

In Spring, you will fully develop your individual project which you will present through a white paper and presentation at the end of the semester. We may also choose to work together as a cohort on a project that seeks to innovate some aspect of the college in which we determine we would like to have an impact. This will also be presented at the close of the program.

We do want to respect your time and assist you in completing this program. Faculty Fellows have received a release to accommodate for the extra time the program requires. Staff Fellows do not receive a release, but we will work with your supervisors to ensure that your time requirements for the Innovation Fellows program are accommodated. Do not hesitate to contact us with any concerns so that we can work through them together with you.

For questions or more information about Innovation Fellows, contact Jordan Carswell, West Houston Institute Director.