Stanford Silicon Valley Meet-up — Vikranth Reddimasu

Invited to Stanford University as a University Innovation Fellow for the Silicon Valley Meet-up, connecting with fellows and innovators from across the globe.

University Innovation Fellows walking across the Stanford campus with Hoover Tower in the background — Fellows walking across Stanford campus — Silicon Valley Meet-up, March 2023

The Invitation

As a University Innovation Fellow, I was invited to Stanford University for the Silicon Valley Meet-up, a gathering of fellows from universities around the world. Hundreds of students, all working on changing how their universities approach innovation and education, all in one place for a few days.

The Experience

Standing in a packed auditorium during a session — Sessions, workshops, and moments in between — click to view full size

Collaborative workshop session with fellows and mentors — Sessions, workshops, and moments in between — click to view full size

At Stanford, I had the opportunity to:

Spend time at Stanford's d.school, the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. Sitting in the spaces where design thinking was formalized into a methodology was something I won't forget
Connect with fellows from 6 continents, each bringing different perspectives on what innovation looks like at their own universities
Attend workshops led by Stanford faculty and Silicon Valley leaders on entrepreneurship, design thinking, and building innovation ecosystems

Unconference session at the Silicon Valley Meet-up with fellows gathered in a large venue — Unconference sessions and keynotes — learning from innovators and each other

Keynote speaker on stage with 'Frame Your Mind, Shape Your Future' presentation — Unconference sessions and keynotes — learning from innovators and each other

What Came After

The frameworks and connections from Stanford came back to campus with me. Our UIF team went on to run design thinking workshops for over 5,000 students across multiple universities. Some of the people I met here became co-authors on the Change Forward Journal. Others I still talk to regularly. That's the part that stuck, honestly, not the sessions themselves, but the people.

All University Innovation Fellows gathered for a group photo at Stanford University — The full cohort of University Innovation Fellows — Stanford University, March 2023