da Vinci Center News

IN THE NEWS / FEBRUARY 2021 “The academy will bring together 150 underrepresented students consisting of first-generation college students and low-income students alongside 50 community members identified by the Jackson Ward Collective and Activation Capital.” RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH

If the future of higher education were up to Garret Westlake, it would be about “taking risks, not tests.” Happily, in his position as Executive Director of the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation, Westlake stands a good chance of making that happen. Case in point: A da Vinci student recently approached Westlake with an idea for […]

IN THE NEWS / JANUARY 2021 “When something piques Jon Mirador’s interest, he goes all in. The junior at Virginia Commonwealth University was originally a mechanical engineering major but once he started taking some classes at VCU’s da Vinci Center, the university’s home for advancing innovation and entrepreneurship through cross-disciplinary collaboration, he was hooked. Now he is […]

IN THE NEWS / DECEMBER 2020 Nursing student Lyndsey Highlander took a chance on such an opportunity and was amazed at what she learned. She volunteered to take part in a design sprint through the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation where teams develop an idea for a product.  “Close to when COVID started, we were getting all […]

IN THE NEWS / NOVEMBER 2020 The da Vinci Center for Innovation at VCU pulls together students from unlikely disciplines to innovate new products, an idea that was novel at its inception. “Sometime around 2007, arts, engineering and business decided that they would collaborate in offering a new undergraduate program in product innovation,”  says Garret […]

IN THE NEWS / SEPTEMBER 2020 In the spring, Anubhav Thapaliya, Lyndsey Highlander, Sivam Bhatt, Teerth Patel and Nuhash Bhuiyan participated in a health care sprint focused on COVID-19 through the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation. Highlander will graduate in December from the School of Nursing. Her teammates are all sophomores and members of the Honors College, […]

IN THE NEWS / MAY 2020 For three years, Fleet Feet and Shood have worked together collecting and distributing new and gently used running shoes to those who are homeless or living in poverty. This time they’re also helping out health care workers. RVA HUB

IN THE NEWS / MAY 2020 Virginia Commonwealth University alumnus Zuhayr Shaikh wanted to make a difference during his time in isolation. An email from a free clinic in his hometown provided an opportunity. Mother of Mercy Free Medical Clinics in Manassas, Virginia, was transitioning to telehealth in mid-March after Gov. Ralph Northam issued a stay-at-home […]

IN THE NEWS / MAY 2020 Jividen and Dao, who both earned undergraduate degrees at the University of Virginia, started out with the idea to create a retractable bur, but that proved to be a challenge because dental practices would need to replace the entire tool if they wanted the safer version. Instead, they shifted […]

IN THE NEWS / APRIL 2020 The Graduate Certificate in Health Care Innovation is a joint program offered by VCU’s School of Nursing and da Vinci Center for Innovation, a collaboration of VCU’s Schools of the Arts and Business and colleges of Engineering and Humanities and Sciences that advances innovation and entrepreneurship. The certificate will provide opportunities for students to advance their knowledge and skills at identifying problems […]