Call to Innovate
The 2010 Campus Technology Innovators Awards
- By Geoffrey H. Fletcher
- 02/01/10
Innovation is in. Innovation has always
been in, but it really is in these days:
According to economists, innovation
will be America’s hedge in an increasingly
competitive global economy, but
only if our education system is good
enough—and innovative enough—to
foster the same creativity and inventiveness
in our students.
The signs are everywhere. The federal
Department of Education is investing
$650 million in new grants that
foster innovation. And according to a
recent New York Times article (www.
nytimes.com/2010/01/10/business/
10mba.html), business schools are
encouraging innovation by revising
their curricula to include “multidisciplinary
approaches, an understanding of
global and historical context and perspectives,
a greater focus on leadership
and social responsibility and, yes,
learning how to think critically.”
On the technology side, reviews of
the recent Consumer Electronics Show
(CES) raved about all the cutting-edge
tech, and gearheads were drooling over
cool 3D televisions, new smart phones
and apps, touchscreen slate tablets,
and just plain gadgets.
We at CT have long supported the
innovative use of technology within the
higher education space, but our view
goes a little farther than just cool gadgets.
We can salivate over bright and
shiny things with the best of them, but
we really get excited about inventive
uses of technology that create positive
change for students and institutions. Our
stories strive to look for the place where
people and technology and change all
meet—to us, that’s true innovation.
Another way we encourage innovation
is through our Campus Technology
Innovators Awards. Again this year we
are looking to honor exemplary colleges
and universities and their visionary
technology-project leadership who have
deployed creative technology-based
solutions to meet campus challenges.
This year, a judging committee of
national technology leaders, many of
whom are former Campus Technology
Innovators Award honorees, will help
us choose the winners. We are seeking
innovators in the following categories:
1) Teaching and Learning; 2) Student
Systems and Services; 3) Administrative
Systems; 4) Leadership, Governance,
and Policy; 5) IT Infrastructure
and Systems; 6) Education Futurists.
Winners will be recognized with:
- A special feature in our August
issue and on our website
- An awards ceremony at the Campus
Technology 2010 conference
in Boston, MA, July 19-22, 2010
- One free registration to CT2010 for
the project lead
- Discounted registration for up to
four additional team members
- Other special recognition for vendor
partners and project contributors
The nomination process is open now.
To learn more and submit your entry,
head to www.campustechnology.com/
innovators. The deadline: March 10.
We hope our showcasing innovative
technology implementations in higher
education will spur more game-changing
practices and other innovations as
well. Our country needs it, and our students
deserve it.
About the Author
Geoffrey H. Fletcher is the deputy executive director of the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA).