Silicon Valley is closely watching UC’s NEXT Innovation Scholars

UC has built it, a program that blends academic excellence with real-world problem-solving.

Located in UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub, NEXT Innovation Scholars forges strategic collaborations while immersing students in hands-on learning across various skill sets. The cohort-based transdisciplinary educational program focuses on human-centered design and future-minded innovation.

The pipeline of connections developed over the years between student scholars and the world’s epicenter of innovation, Silicon Valley, is paying off.

“Developing and leveraging strong connections to industry has been central in our strategy for establishing NEXT Innovation Scholars as a signature innovation program,” says Aaron Bradley, director of the program.

“We’ve invested in building meaningful relationships with innovation professionals across the globe who contribute to our research, mentor our students and even hire us to bring next-gen insights to their innovation projects.”

Proof came this year when students invited innovators across Silicon Valley, many of whom are leaders at the world’s most influential companies, to gather and celebrate what the program has accomplished in just four years while casting vision for the future.

Not only did those leaders show up to watch the NEXT Innovation Scholars’ presentation, but others received the invitations directly from their own colleagues and clients, with a message “to connect with some of the most innovative students at the University of Cincinnati.”

Emerging NEXT Innovation Scholars student leaders shared examples of commissioned projects for globally recognized, Fortune 500 organizations and showcased the real-world impacts they’ve delivered.

They thanked existing corporate partners while making meaningful connections with potential new ones.

Innovation professionals in attendance gained a clear understanding of the program's scope, wide-ranging projects, unique approaches and measurable impacts. After the presentation, Silicon Valley leaders, both longtime partners and newcomers, connected with the scholars, offered mentorship, shared research insights and discussed future collaborations.

Bradley said the conversation is no longer just about UC students traveling to Silicon Valley; it’s about Silicon Valley paying attention to students from Cincinnati. The fact that contacts are inviting their networks to get in on NEXT Innovation Scholars' work speaks volumes to the credibility and reputation of what’s being built at UC and UC's 1819 Innovation Hub.

The NEXT Innovation Scholars program has proven that geography is no barrier to influence and that Cincinnati, as the Center for the Silicon Heartland, can play a defining role in the innovation economy.

As one industry representative put it, the excitement comes from seeing “students who think boldly, ask the right questions and are unafraid to step into conversations that will shape the future of work, design and technology.”