The School District of New Berlin, Pathways High Charter School, Shorewood School District, and the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center (LEC) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have partnered to facilitate a series of Pop Ups on Lean Startup methodology. The objective of these Pop Ups is to expose students to creative and entrepreneurial mindsets and encourage students to follow their curiosity and lead their learning by doing hands-on “experiments” in an open and safe environment. UWM’s LEC staff and UWM faculty facilitated over 75 Pop Ups in the 2016 – 2017 school year for UWM- and high-school students. Our Pop Up workshops cover a wide and expanding array of topics, but they share the same basic trait – engaging students. Learn more below.
What are Pop Ups?
Pop Ups act as a warm-up, set of activities, and debrief. We use various ice-breaker exercises to set the workshop norms (students will participate rather than sit back as passive learners). The fun engaging atmosphere of Pop Ups puts all participants on an equal footing, and breaks down the hierarchical structure (faculty and staff participate alongside the students). Some of the most popular Pop Up Workshop topics have included:
- Design Thinking
- Business Etiquette
- Lean Launch and the Business Model Canvas
- Financial Modeling for Early Stage Enterprises
- Customer Discovery and Interviewing
- Crowd Funding
- Intellectual Property
- Elevator Pitching
- Market Research
- Branding
- Storytelling
- Presentations Dos and don’ts
- Legal Clinic
- Business Ethics
Teacher Development
UWM Pop Up integration is most effective when teachers and UWM Lubar Entrepreneurship Center staff collaborate on course content and logistics. Through a three-hour workshop, teachers understand the content of each Pop Up workshop which ensures that the Pop Ups complement and enhance their instructional goals.
This three-hour workshop focuses on experiential design thinking and lean startups and is ideal for about 5 – 10 facilitators. This workshop includes:
- Overview of Pop Up curriculum
- Discussion of target courses and learning objectives for these courses
- Development of recommendations for how best to link Pop Ups with course objectives
- Logistics and suggestions for most effective implementation of Pop Ups
UWM Credit Course “On-Ramp”
UWM is working to develop partnerships with regional schools that provide an “on-ramp” to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for innovators and entrepreneurs. In conjunction with the Pop Up series and workshops, students that enroll at UWM can submit a portfolio based on their work and will receive three credits, if their portfolio meets established guidelines. UWM can work with interested schools to establish this partnership.
