![]() ![]() The Kaplan Institute can play a leadership role in developing the tech ecosystem of the Midwest.Ĭhristianson: If this gift had been given when you were an IIT student 50-plus years ago, how would your life have been different or improved? ![]() Chicago happens to be sitting in the middle of a triangle of tech ecosystems delineated by Austin, Texas Silicon Valley and Boston. Kaplan: A tech ecosystem is typically made up of technology-based companies, universities, and research institutions as well as other components, such as the government, which is a key player in its creation. This is our vision for the future at IIT.Ĭhristianson: I get what tech entrepreneurship is about-where technology and business meet-but could you explain a term you mentioned at the gift event: tech ecosystem? There will be collaborations between professors, researchers, and students from all disciplines. ![]() All undergraduates will be required to participate in coursework in this building. So you can see that everything is under one roof. We intend to build the EA into a world-class tech entrepreneurial center that will provide a wide range of academic courses as well as exposure to distinctive programming in experiential learning. IIT also has a Leadership Academy and an Entrepreneurship Academy (EA). This past spring semester, there were 70 teams with a total of 750 students working on IPROs. ![]() Our Interprofessional Projects (IPRO) Program and Idea Shop will also be moved to the Kaplan Institute. Undergraduates will be able to access their teachings. We expect to house ID in the Kaplan Institute on IIT Main Campus. The faculty teach design methods and how to solve problems. It only grants graduate degrees, and it is believed to be the best design school in the country. IIT currently has an Institute of Design (ID) that is located in downtown Chicago. Kaplan: I assume that you are asking what IIT is doing now. If you can go ahead and put somebody in a position where they could do what it is they want to do and it’s something that makes them happy and productive, then they will need the tools to enable themselves to go forward and change the world.Ĭhristianson: So you don’t think we’re doing that now? What we will do at the Kaplan Institute is enable them to be very, very productive in achieving their personal and professional goals. The endgame for students is that they will be able to get jobs that they will find very satisfying, will be very good at, and will be passionate about. Some will become successful entrepreneurs. Our graduates will acquire a capability to innovate that will be superior to any other technical university and will lead to a lifetime of career success. Kaplan: The most important thing about what we’re doing is that it is for the students. What do IIT students have to look forward to at the Kaplan Institute? At 26 he left Teletype to pursue his dream and started Data Specialties, which later was transitioned into Zebra Technologies.Ĭhristianson, inventor of the X-Cube twisty puzzle, told the crowd attending the gift event that he has a few things in common with Kaplan: both started businesses in their 20s, both belonged to fraternities, and both studied mechanical engineering-but 50 years apart.Ĭhristianson rejoined Kaplan in April to ask him how the new institute will impact IIT students 50 years beyond Christianson’s own commencement.Ĭhristianson: Your gift is a really big deal-a game changer. It became clear to Kaplan that he wanted to become an entrepreneur and his own boss. Kaplan worked days as a research and development engineer at Teletype Corporation, a data communications company, while pursuing his degree at night. The co-founder of Zebra Technologies, a manufacturer of on-demand bar code and RFID labeling and ticketing systems, Kaplan says while pursuing his mechanical engineering degree at IIT, he discovered that “the intersection of engineering and business could provide many opportunities.” He redirected his career path late in his senior year from a master’s in electro-mechanisms to an M.B.A. John Ronan Architects and Shepley Bulfinch will design the building, which is slated for completion in 2017. The two first met earlier this year at an event announcing Kaplan’s latest gift to IIT: a $10 million challenge grant to help build the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship. Only minutes after meeting entrepreneur Ed Kaplan (ME ’65) for the first time, Dane Christianson (ME 3rd year) says it was clear that Kaplan is deeply committed to students. Generation Innovation Member Dane Christianson Interviews Ed Kaplan About the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship Dane Christianson and Ed Kaplan ![]()
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