Aggies Invent Sparks Innovation
Held seven times annually, Aggies Invent is an intensive design experience offered at Texas A&M University in which students have just 48 hours to create prototypes that address real-world challenges. This April, student participants will focus on developing technologies that could enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities—such as tools that could improve classrooms for visually impaired students or allow physically disabled adults to live more independently.
The competition, which engages 60 or more students of all majors, is held in the Engineering Innovation Center, a 20,000-square-foot rapid prototyping lab. Each event has a different theme designed in collaboration with industry and faculty. Past event objectives include designing novel products to assist the U.S. Special Operations Command; creating new Internet of Things devices (objects that use metadata from the internet to make decisions); and enhancing augmented and virtual reality capabilities.
Alejandra Hernandez ’18, an industrial engineering major, is a two-time participant. “Aggies Invent has been the most fulfilling personal and academic experience in my life,” she said. “You never know when the right idea will take hold and change the world.”
As each team presents its prototype, engineering, business and communication skills intersect. The top three teams receive $1,000, $750 and $500, respectively. The Engineering Innovation Center and Aggies Invent also assist students working toward commercialization or the establishment of their own startup companies.