Four Saint Mary’s students had an opportunity to take part in a real-world learning experience through the Minnesota Private College Council’s Innovation Scholars program.
Through Innovation Scholars, Saint Mary’s students from across academic disciplines have an opportunity to research and make recommendations on innovative medical technology that is in development at Mayo Clinic and Medical Alley, a network of organizations in the healthcare industry.
The Saint Mary’s students who took part in this year’s Innovation Partners included Sophia Gannon ’24 (biology), Noah Kiemel ’24 (finance, business intelligence and data analytics), Luke Puffer ’23 (business intelligence and data analytics), and Emma Schuster ’24 (biology, pre-medical professions).
Since the fall, the team researched a new technology for stroke procedures and presented their findings to Mayo Clinic licensing managers earlier this month.
Matt Klosky, an assistant professor of business and adviser for Innovation Partners, says the program allows students to work in a cross-discipline manner, allowing students to break out of their “silos.”
“(For our students) This is a very good résumé builder in terms of demonstrating teamwork and partnering with people from diverse disciplinary backgrounds,” he said. “So this is a very interdisciplinary thing that gets you out of the heads-down technical aspect of the program you’re in and gets you thinking in a much broader sense about how an organization approaches these things.”
This year marks the 15th year of Saint Mary’s participation in Innovation Scholars.
Photo caption: Front row: Sophia Gannon, Rachael Rinehart (University of Saint Thomas MBA student). Back Row: Emma Schuster, Noah Kiemel, Luke Puffer.