As part of Vanderbilt's ongoing drive to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, Provost C. Cybele Raver has announced a strategic new collaboration among the Wond'ry, the School of Engineering and the Owen Graduate School of Management's Center for Entrepreneurship.
Effective July 1, the Wond'ry was integrated into the School of Engineering, expanding access to valuable innovation resources. As part of this realignment, entrepreneurship efforts have transitioned to the Owen School, where a dedicated team is set to bring those innovations to market.
"We are investing significantly in innovation and entrepreneurship programming to further unite our campus in interdisciplinary discovery and increase our impact around the world," Raver said. "This strategic ecosystem will support all members of our community, ensuring they have the resources to innovate their ideas into impactful, real-world advancements, products and services."
Raver emphasized that this new collaborative alignment is intended to benefit the entire Vanderbilt community-from those ready to launch startups to those simply wanting to explore and experience-by reimagining how students, faculty and staff interact with the School of Engineering and the Owen School.
A STRATEGIC REALIGNMENT TO ENHANCE FOCUS
This new approach will sharpen the Wond'ry's focus to two core pillars: innovation and making/design.
Now reporting directly to Dean Krish Roy, the Wond'ry's integration within the School of Engineering will enable it to leverage the college's robust resources and interdisciplinary opportunities to foster creativity, rapid prototyping, product development and systems design and make its core expertise available to more of the community.
"The strength of this move lies in two deans working together to accelerate ideas to market, ensuring that students and others have the support they need to refine concepts into viable products or services that are nurtured into successful businesses," said Roy.
Innovating and prototyping are just the first step-the transition is equally about bringing ideas to market. Within this strategic partnership, the Center for Entrepreneurship will take the lead in guiding collaborative business development. Tom Steenburgh, dean of the Owen School of Management, describes how the Center for Entrepreneurship will draw on its expertise, business relationships and vast alumni network to boost student ideas into viable products and services. "Our community is an endless source of ideas and innovations. No matter which industry or category those ideas will impact, Owen will draw on its entire network to guide Vanderbilt students on how to operationalize their idea, generate revenue and secure vital capital funds."
The strength of Vanderbilt's entrepreneurial network was on full display during the recent Convoy event-one of the largest university-led gatherings of its kind. The event brought together hundreds of alumni, investors, students, and innovators, including industry leaders like Mark Cuban and Jeff Rothschild. It also highlighted the success of Vanderbilt alumni, including seven who have built billion-dollar companies. Convoy powerfully demonstrated the university's growing capacity to connect bold ideas with the mentorship, capital, and networks needed to bring them to market-reinforcing Vanderbilt's emergence as a national hub for innovation and venture creation.
REFINING OF MISSION AND FUTURE DIRECTION
The Wond'ry, School of Engineering and Owen School of Management will refine their missions to collaboratively enhance entrepreneurship activity for all members of the Vanderbilt community, including students, faculty and staff.
While the Wond'ry will continue to focus on innovation and productization, it will also develop new student-facing initiatives with the School of Engineering in close collaboration with Owen Graduate School of Management and the Law School's planned startup clinic, which will provide legal guidance.
Grant-related responsibilities will shift to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation.
The move will reduce redundancy between entrepreneurship and social innovation programs and other university initiatives, optimizing resource allocation and enhancing financial sustainability while strengthening Vanderbilt's innovation pipeline.
"The Wond'ry has always been a space where ideas come to life," said Dave Owens, Evans Family executive director of the Wond'ry. "With the added expertise and possibilities of the School of Engineering behind us, we can build even stronger foundations for our student innovators, while leveraging our enhanced collaboration with Owen's Center for Entrepreneurship to get ideas funded and brought to market."
