Innovation Month

Celebration of Innovation at the University of Idaho

Those who bring innovation to the world are synonymous with progress. They are a force of change — leaders who explore new horizons and shape our perceptions of what’s possible. Each April at the University of Idaho, we celebrate the innovative spirit of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.

This month-long collection of interdisciplinary events celebrates what it means to be Vandals. It highlights the creative and scholarly achievements of our community, pushes the envelope of possibility and encourages everyone to think outside the box.

Innovation Month Events

Student Data Science Competition
March 12 through April 22

The College of Science, Department of Mathematics and IBEST are sponsoring the first-ever University of Idaho Student Data Science Competition. The goal is to promote Data Science research and education on campus. There are two tracks to the competition: The Machine Learning competition will ask participants to grade 20,000 handwritten math quizzes, with the goal of developing a model that performs better than a random guess; The Data Visualization competition will ask participants to explore the provided dataset and tell us what you learn in a compelling visual manner. Sign up to complete and win prizes.

Three-Minute Thesis Competition
April 2, 2018, Idaho Commons Whitewater Room

Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition is an event designed to test the presentation skills of doctoral and master’s students. Knowledge in a field will allow you to succeed, but can you communicate it effectively to an audience from diverse backgrounds? Hosted by the College of Graduate Studies, the public is invited to watch our graduate students present their research in a shortened format.

Barker Trading Competition
April 2-13, 2018

Each participant in the Barker Trading Competition in the College of Business and Economics gets $100,000 in a simulated trading account to grow and compete for $1,000 in real prize money. Students use a trading software platform to analyze and execute their trades and test their knowledge and strategies against the market.

2018 Cybersecurity Symposium
April 9-11, Coeur d’Alene Resort, Coeur d’Alene

The fifth annual Cybersecurity Symposium, hosted by the University of Idaho Center for Secure and Dependable Systems, is an opportunity for researchers, government agency representatives, and small and medium business professionals to come together to discuss our cybersecurity challenges. Keynote speakers include Bill Pike with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Lindsey Hearst of Hewlett-Packard and Anna Scaglione of Arizona State University.

Innovation Showcase
April 25, 2018, Idaho Commons Summit Conference Center

Hosted by the College of Graduate Studies, the Innovation Showcase highlights the hard work of our graduate and undergraduate students in all disciplines. Students compete for prize money based on detailed presentations of their research findings or creative activity projects.

Idaho Pitch and Business Plan Competition
April 27-28, 2018

Part of the Idaho Entrepreneurs program in the College of Business and Economics, the Idaho Pitch and Business Plan Competition give students from across the university a chance to sell their ideas to real businesses and compete to win cash prizes to support their venture.

Engineering Expo
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 27, 2018, Bruce M. Pitman Center

The 25th annual Engineering Design EXPO showcases the senior capstone projects of student’s in the College of Engineering. It is the Northwest’s longest-running, interdisciplinary initiative featuring student innovations. The event welcomes high schoolers from across the region to display their own projects, explore the possibilities of engineering and participate in hands-on engineering activities.

Undergraduate Research Symposium
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 30, 2018, Bruce M. Pitman Center

Hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research, this annual symposium is designed to showcase and celebrate the research and scholarly work in all disciplines by undergraduates at U of I.