'If you're looking to have fun, this is the place for you'
(Lucas Voghell/UConn Photo)
Not everyone is destined to become detective - but everyone is naturally curious and creative, according to Aaron Rosman, '16 (CAHNR) '21 MBA, the operations manager at the Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UConn.
"You might have thought, 'I know how to do something better than the norm,' and that's a start!" says Rosman. "Creativity is a pathway to innovation."
Sometimes all you need, he notes, is to uncover the clues leading to your own creative side - and at UConn, there are a lot of ways for student sleuths to do just that.
UConn undergrads in all years and majors are invited to investigate their own innovative path at the 2025 Experience Innovation Expo: Clues to the Future on Monday, October 27, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the Student Union Room 304.
First launched in 2018, the Experience Innovation Expo has evolved - and changed names - over the years, but the Expo's goal has remained the same. This student-organized event offers a one-stop shop where undergraduates can get first-hand experience from their peers about programs, centers, events, clubs, organizations, and opportunities within the realm of innovation at UConn.
"At the heart of the Expo is the idea that growth begins with curiosity," says student organizer Abigail Koval '26 (BUS). "By engaging with programs that highlight innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship, students are encouraged to explore their passions, challenge their assumptions, and experiment with new possibilities. Whether it's designing a product, joining a startup initiative, or simply engaging in meaningful conversations with mentors and peers, the Expo acts as a catalyst for personal and professional discovery."
Sponsored by the Werth Institute, the Expo is one of five signature events in the University's Month of Discovery, which is held annually to help students connect with opportunities for enrichment, research, innovation, and creativity throughout the month of October.
"At the Expo, we help you meet the students and mentors who host programs that allow you to explore your creative, innovative, and entrepreneurial sides," says Rosman, who serves as the advisor for the Expo's student organizing team. "In this way, the Expo helps transform the big question of 'what's next' into meaningful explorations of who you are and who you can become."
Students attending the Expo will be invited to search for clues to their future and explore the four quadrants of innovation at UConn, including:
- Learning, with academic offerings and courses;
- Creating, including hands-on activities with the Innovation Zone Makerspace and Innovate Labs;
- Connecting with clubs and resources to help students explore their ideas; and
- Exploring, by discovering programs that provide resources - including financial - to help pursue ideas.
The Expo will also feature prizes, and attendance counts toward Discovery Quest, the month-long challenge aimed at encouraging students to earn points as they learn about all UConn has to offer in the fields of research, innovation, and creativity and to unlock the Future Innovator Achievement unique to this year.
"If you're looking to have fun, this is the place for you," says Rosman. "You can successfully interact with this event in 10 minutes, or you can take your time and really savor meeting as many programs as you'd like.
"There's a little something for everyone here."
