Innovation Studio

UR’s Innovation Studio

The Innovation Studio supports skill-building in design thinking, creative problem-solving, and innovation for students, faculty, and staff. Through regular programming, drop-in advising, and course support, the Innovation Studio equips Spiders with skills to advance ideas, systems, products, technologies and processes across sectors to advance society.

Announcements

Advising Hours

Walk-in advising is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, by appointment. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to book a time in advance to ensure personalized support for their projects and ideas.

Book a meeting >

Spider Ventures

The Innovation Studio hosts the Spider Ventures student org weekly from 6:00 to 8:00pm every Thursday evening. Interested students can reach out to President Aaron Greenwood to join, and faculty mentor Dale Fickett with any questions.

Class Reservations

The Innovation Studio is reserved every Monday and Wednesday from 4:00 to 6:00 PM for the Bench Top Innovation course led by Professor Joel Mier.

To schedule a class session in the Innovation Studio, reach out to Andrew Ilnicki to reserve the space in advance.

Book a meeting >

Contact Andrew Ilnicki >

Fall '26 Events

Date	Time	Workshop / Event	Target Audience	Partner(s)	Series	Format	Registration Link
Oct. 9	10am	Pitching Your Story with Creative Tools and AI	All	AI Ready RVA / CLAAI	Digital Commons	Workshop	Register >
Oct. 9	2pm	Getting Started with Adobe CC For Teaching and Learning	All	Tech Studio	Digital Commons	Workshop	Register >
Oct. 16	10am	Stakeholder Mapping & Systems Thinking	All	Julie Farmer	Innovation Foundations	Workshop	Register >
Oct. 16	2pm	3D Modeling with Tech Studio and AI	All	Tech Studio	Digital Commons	Workshop	Register >
Oct. 23	11:30am	Entrep Speaker Series: Will Melton, Xponent21	All	AI Ready RVA / RSB	Digital Commons	Lecture	More Info >
Oct. 23	2pm	SEO in the Age of AI	All	AI Ready RVA / RSB	Digital Commons	Workshop	Register >
Oct. 29		RVA UX Census Night	Students, Faculty	UX Happens in RVA	Community	Field Experience
Oct. 30	2pm	From Search to Synthesis: AnswerThis	All	AI Ready RVA / RSB	Digital Commons	Workshop	Register >
Nov. 6		Pitching Yourself	Students	Guest Speaker	Founder Skills	Workshop
Nov. 6		Design Thinking - Intro (90 min)	All		Innovation Foundations	Workshop
Nov. 12	10am	Startup Virginia Tour	Entrepreneurship Students	Startup Virginia	Ecosystem Excursion	Field Experience	CLOSED
Nov. 13		Rapid Prototyping Lab	Students	AI Ready RVA / CLAAI	Build & Prototype	Workshop
Nov. 13		LEGO® Serious Play / CPS Sprint (90 min)	All		Innovation Foundations	Workshop
Nov. 17		Bench Top Innovation Bake-Off	Students	Joel Mier / Shane Emmet	Community	Competition
Nov. 20		Causal Forecasting & AI	Students, Faculty	MARKETview	AI Series	Workshop
Nov. 20		Creative Problem Solving Sprint	Students		Innovation Foundations	Workshop
Dec. 3		Richmond Demo Day	All	VCU daVinci Center	Showcase	Showcase

Feature Stories

From doom scrolling to Drvyn

Bo Mwonzora Turns an Everyday Problem into an Entrepreneurial Venture

UR Now: STUDENT EXPERIENCE

University of Richmond students win global competition

Jeff Tsai and Jasmine Johnson develop innovative device to protect coral reefs — and earn top prize in international Biodesign Sprint.

UR Now: Student Experience

Richmond seniors receive Silicon Valley funding for AI company

UR students receive six-figure backing and valuable mentorship through Y Combinator, a startup accelerator to high-tech superstars, like DoorDash and Airbnb.