Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Solution Center?
2. What is the Venture Fund?
3. What are the six economic clusters?
4. How does this help students in Indiana?
5. How does this help businesses in Indianapolis?
6. What steps should I take to begin work with the Solution Center?
7. What makes a good Solution Center internship or project?
8. What is the process and selection criteria for Venture Fund support?

1. What is the Solution Center?

Established with a $1.7 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, the IUPUI Solution Center serves as a coordinating unit with broad institutional responsibilities for collaborating with industry and economic development leaders on behalf of all schools. It will provide a single point of access for business and community organizations to overcome the size and complexity of IUPUI-especially for small or entrepreneurial enterprises.

In addition to serving as a broker between the community and the campus, the Solution Center will also use funds from the Lilly Endowment as "venture capital" to invest (as matching money) in worthy projects that may not have sufficient money.

The Solution Center is designed to develop talent, encourage degree completion of IUPUI students, retain graduates in Indiana and apply the expertise, skills and knowledge of faculty, staff and students to economic development opportunities.

2. What is the Venture Fund?

The central component of the Solution Center is the Community-IUPUI Venture Fund. Over the three-year life of the Lilly Endowment support, three-fourths of the money will go to this fund. The money will be held in trust for the benefit of the community and will be available to the community to "buy" goods and services from IUPUI schools, faculty, students, and staff, with priority given to economic development opportunities in one of the six strategic clusters.

The selection criteria, funding cycle and application process will be defined during the first quarter of 2004.

3. What are the six economic clusters?

The Solution Center focuses on six economic clusters of research and academic importance, as identified by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and the Energize Indiana Project, which are essentially important to Central Indiana, including:

• Life and Health Sciences
• Information and Communication Technologies
• 21st Century Logistics
• Arts, Culture and Tourism
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Nonprofit Organizations

4. How does this help students in Indiana?

The Solution Center actively seeks opportunities to increase the number of career-related research and experiential opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. IUPUI's downtown location creates many opportunities for career-related internships and employment. By placing students in Indiana businesses and organizations, IUPUI builds both capacity for the business/organization and relevant career-enhancing skills for the student. The Solution Center offers a front door entry to many opportunities, experiences, internships and jobs in our urban environment and beyond.

The larger goal of the Solution Center is to develop a pipeline of talented students who will stay in Indiana (or return to Indiana), assume leadership roles in business and industry, and help create new jobs for graduating students.

5. How does this help businesses in Indianapolis?

The Solution Center provides a single "front door" to IUPUI for people in the Central Indiana region. For community organizations and businesses it means convenient, one-stop access to the campus and a complete understanding of the resources and talent available. The primary goal of the Center is to develop partnerships, create professional internships, and expand linkages between the community and faculty, drawing on existing assets and creating new capacities when necessary, through a customized approach to community clients. Whether you want to hire an IUPUI student for an internship or you need some research done but are unsure of which department to call, the IUPUI Solution Center has the answer.

6. What steps should I take to begin work with the Solution Center?

Interested community members who want to explore a partnership with the IUPUI Solution Center should:

1. Contact the Solution Center to provide a brief outline of the proposed project or need (either by Web form, email, or phone).
2. Meet with a Solution Center director to triage the request and determine the appropriate university resources.
3. Meet with potential faculty, researchers, or school internship coordinators appropriate to the need and/or project.

7. What makes a good Solution Center internship or project?

Internships

• "Internships" or experiential-learning opportunities should be reviewed by a Solution Center director or school representative to ensure its value as a true "learning experience."
• In general, a good experiential learning opportunity will include a significant level of responsibility, be related to the student's program of study and career goals, and provide a suitable mentor or supervisor who is expert in the field of the internship.
• The organization or business that creates an internship will gain in terms of the student's talent and the capacity they bring to the organization, but should also be prepared to create a learning environment for the intern that may include networking opportunities, cross-training experiences, exposure to organizational goals and planning objectives, in addition to the intern's primary internship responsibilities.
• For-credit internships should be developed in agreement with a school representative, faculty member, or career counselor. There are specific requirements for both the employer and the student-intern that make the internship experience eligible for credit.

Business Assistance Project

• Business Assistance Projects offer an organization and a student or faculty member the opportunity to engage with a small business or non-profit organization to respond to a short-term need.
• Projects do not provide the organization or the student the same level of contact and direct involvement as an internship, due to the short-term nature of projects. However, business assistance projects often are an excellent solution to an organization's need for training, information, technology assistance, etc.
• Projects tend to be between 40 and 100 hours in duration, and should be reviewed and planned with a Solution Center director to assure that the scope of the project is suitable to be accomplished in that limited amount of time.

8. What is the process and selection criteria for Venture Fund support?

Once the internship or project has been reviewed by a Solution Center director, and the director has determined the best university resource, Venture Fund support may be available to assist the organization with short-term internship salary or research costs. Funding priority is provided to small businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations that otherwise do not have the resources needed to fully implement the project or engage the student. Applicants for Venture Fund support will be provided a template form to assist them in their request for funds.

Upon receipt of a Venture Fund request, the director will package the Venture Fund request with any supporting documentation, the position announcement or research scope (as appropriate), and the director's or campus champion's comments in support for the project.

The Venture Fund request then goes to the Solution Center's External Advisory Board, where it is reviewed. Comments, questions, approval, or denial is provided back to the director within one work week. The director will notify the applicant of any questions or if approved/denied for any reason.

If approved, the applicant will be sent a letter of agreement and will be asked to provide applicable details such as the name of the student intern, once identified, a vendor information form, and an invoice for the approved funds according to the schedule outlined in the letter of agreement.