Stamford Innovation Center Launches InnovationED

STAMFORD, Conn. - April 5, 2013 - PRLog -- Stamford, CT – The Stamford Innovation Center is launching InnovationED, a new education program that will offer hands-on training in innovation skills to the Southwestern Connecticut business community, with the first classes beginning this month.

InnovationED instructors include such business leaders as Bridget Williams, senior vice president of startup, tech and business media outlet BusinessInsider.com, and Dan Taylor, president of Stamford-based Taylor Design, who will lead workshops focused on practical skills for innovation within a variety of business settings.  In each class, participants will learn and apply skills for innovative business building, and they will receive real-time feedback from world-class experts on their work.

“We believe that people learn by doing, not just by listening,” said Barry Schwimmer, founder and managing partner of the Stamford Innovation Center.  “The top-notch instructors we bring to the Center don’t just explain theory — they help class participants put innovation skills to use in their own businesses right away.”

The InnovationED program will offer a mix of topics and formats, including two-hour evening workshops and half-day “boot camps.”  All classes will encourage conversation, feedback and networking among students and instructors – a key ingredient to the collaborative environment InnovationED is looking to foster.

Classes begin April 9.  Participants may sign up for the first classes at innovationed.tmblr.com (http://innovationed.tumblr.com).

The first five InnovationED classes are:

“PR Boot camp & PR Showdown,” Tuesday, April 9, 2-5 PM.  In this intensive, three-hour workshop, individuals and small company teams will work with public relations guru and former national magazine editor Joe Dolce to perfect PR campaigns.  Participants will present campaigns to an audience including reporters, bloggers and media execs.

“The Power of Storytelling,” Tuesday, April 23, 1-5 PM; 7-9 PM.  We connect and engage through stories.  People remember, learn from and respond to stories.  Underlying all successful communication, whether a pitch, a presentation or a memo, is a story-based structure that captures the imagination of the audience.  Terence Mickey, who has developed storytelling trainings for Mercer, Ford, Wrigley and Mass Mutual, among others, will discuss the principles of crafting a story and transforming communications into compelling narratives.  

“The Three Stages of Business Development,” Wednesday, April 24, 7-9 PM.  Business development executive Bridget Williams, senior vice president of Business Insider, will share the secrets of reaching deal nirvana.  She will break down the stages necessary to growing businesses and making deals in this two-hour evening workshop.  Practical skills will be tested as participants break up into groups to simulate courting people and crafting deals using a three-step process:

1.     The Hunt: Finding the Right Person

2.     Negotiations: the Art of Discernment

3.     Walking Away: the Most Valuable Skill

“Building Effective Email and Newsletter Campaigns,” Wednesday, April 24, 7-9 PM.  Building an audience for your new product or service?  Email campaigns can be effective and cost-effective, too.  In this two-hour workshop, design gurus Dan Taylor and Chris Yerkes walk through every step of the email campaign process.  Participants will learn about third-party platforms for managing campaigns, how to plan a successful campaign, best practices for designing and writing email newsletters as well as how to test and measure each campaign.

“Ask the Data Scientist,” Tuesday, May 7, 7-9 PM.  Top data scientists Daniel Krasner and Ian Langmore of Johnson Research Labs and Columbia University will discuss the latest in the world of data science.  They will help students understand Big Data, how the latest in data science techniques can be applied to their businesses and what third-party resources can support data analysis, among other topics.

About the Stamford Innovation Center
Featuring coworking, dedicated offices, conference facilities and a comprehensive slate of startup-centric classes and events, the Stamford Innovation Center is the ideal place for young enterprises to grow and interact with peers, mentors, investors, industry experts and service providers.  For information on how to join our community, please visit www.stamfordicenter.com.