{"id":4508,"date":"2016-09-20T19:33:25","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T00:33:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/?p=4508"},"modified":"2016-12-02T14:01:01","modified_gmt":"2016-12-02T20:01:01","slug":"kick-start-that-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.lib.uiowa.edu\/eng\/kick-start-that-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Kick-Start That Project!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Creative Kick-Start<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Hey students!<\/div>\n
Are you interested in giving\u00a0your\u00a0idea, project, or invention a kick-start?<\/div>\n
Want to make that project a reality?<\/div>\n

\n

A new program,\u00a0Kick-Start<\/a>,\u00a0has been developed for engineering students (undergraduate and graduate) to request funding to pay for prototyping and\/or finishing projects using the services offered through the Creative Space<\/a>, Engineering Electronic Shop<\/a> (EES) and the\u00a0Engineering Machine Shop<\/a> (EMS).\u00a0There will be ten\u00a0$500 awards!!<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>How exciting is that!?<\/p>\n

\"Five<\/a>
Five 3D printers available in the Engineering Electronics Shop (EES)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are a limited number of Kick-Starts to be awarded this year – so this is a competitive process!\u00a0Make sure you check the Kick-Start<\/a> webpage to get complete details!<\/p>\n

Briefly, any student (graduate or undergraduate) may apply for a Kick-Start award. You come up with an idea, find a faculty or staff sponsor, complete an online application form (available soon), attend an in-person workshop (approximately an hour), and present your project in April!<\/p>\n

There are a few requirements which include (but aren’t limited to)\u00a0keeping receipts and a record of all expenses (a budget spreadsheet template will be be provided). A\u00a0post-project survey of the Kick-Start program will also be required.<\/p>\n

You are strongly encouraged to\u00a0visit the Hanson Center for Technical Communication<\/a> for assistance with writing your proposal before it is submitted.\u00a0We also suggest you fill out a hackaday.io<\/a> page and use it to post regular, substantial updates on the status of your project. Each update should include photos – of your project, notes or sketches – and text explaining your progress.<\/p>\n

There are a few restrictions, one of which is\u00a0you may not already be receiving funding for this project from any other source. There can only be one idea per submission and a student may only be the primary investigator on one Kick-Start per year. \u00a0Students may be co-investigators on more than one project. Be sure to check the Kick-Start webpage for more information.<\/p>\n

So what else do you need to know?<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of the Modeling Stations available in the Creative Space.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The idea for the project is yours, and may be a finished product or a prototype. You maintain ownership of your idea and anything you build during the project.\u00a0For inspiration check out United Nations Global Problems<\/a>. \u00a0A team may work on the project together, but one student must be designated as the primary investigator. A primary investigator may be a co-investigator on another project.<\/p>\n

You may keep any materials you purchase for your project, but tools purchased should be returned to the Creative Space for use by future makers. This can be a gray area, so please direct any questions about what should be returned to lib-engineering@uiowa.edu<\/a>.\u00a0The $500 award may only<\/em> be used in EES and EMS for materials, tools, and labor, etc. Any unused funds will revert back\u00a0to the program and will go toward helping another future maker build their idea.<\/p>\n

You are required to have a sponsor who will\u00a0review the requirements of the Kick-Start program and review your application before it is submitted. You will meet with your sponsor a minimum of 3 times during the course of the Kick-Start program. The sponsorship officially ends with the presentation in April, but the sponsor and student are free to continue to work on the project if they so choose.<\/p>\n

Remember that ‘failure’ is part of the creative process. The important thing\u00a0is you learn from these failures and therefore are\u00a0better prepared for future projects. You will still be required to present your project in April – your presentation can deal with what went wrong, how it could be fixed, what you would do differently, what you learned. As\u00a0Thomas Edison said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that \u00a0won’t work.”<\/p>\n

\"Ellis<\/a>
Ellis mitre band saw in the Engineering Machine shop (EMS).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are so many resources to help you complete your project! Our Creative Space is a great place to begin! Two collaboration tables, each with a quad-screen monitor will help your team work together to imagine your project. There are 4 modeling stations with Leap Motion controllers, Wacom drawing tablets and the high-powered software you need. 3D cameras, a 4400 Dell computer with a video card, Leap Motion controllers and an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset can help you manipulate your project in virtual reality. \u00a0EES and EMS have the equipment you need to take your project from virtual reality to reality! EES provides circuit board fabrication, dye sublimation printing, PC board prototypes, laser cutting and etching and 3D printing (among other things!). EMS has sheet metal tools, power hand tools, computer controlled machine tools (among other things!) Staff in both EMS and EES are happy to\u00a0answer questions and provide guidance!<\/p>\n

We have the resources and the support needed to help bring your idea to reality! So, what are you waiting for? Kick-Start your project now!!<\/p>\n

Here’s video of the new Creative Space Open House!<\/p>\n