Earlier this month, I announced that Alumni Futures had been recognized with an award. I also mentioned what Katie Konrath did on her creativity and innovation blog, when she won the same award: she gave the prize away.
Now I'm going to do the same thing, and I'm going to do it the same way. It's very simple.
To be considered for the Alumni Futures Innovation Award, click the button below to generate a random word. This will help you start fresh in brainstorming an idea...
Your random word is:
<p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p>Title of the document</p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>
(All the words are "hard." Go with the first one you get. Also, the button may not work if you are reading this in an email or newsfeed, so visit the web page to use the button in this posting.)
Now use that word to brainstorm an answer to this challenge:
"Briefly describe one new idea to improve or benefit higher education administration."
Your idea can apply to alumni relations, development, PR, marketing, communications, admissions, career services – or a combination. Or some other specialty. We're flexible.
I'll select a recipient from the submissions to receive the Alumni Futures Innovation Award, and post the idea and winner in a future posting.
Ideally, the winning idea will reflect some of the following characteristics:
- Hasn't yet been thoroughly tried or tested in higher ed administration;
- Challenges standard assumptions and practices in our professions;
- Could be implemented at many kinds of institutions – or better yet, could happen across many or even all institutions.
- Is so cool, so clever or so simple that we won't believe we haven't thought of it.
Deadline:
Submit your random word and your brief idea via email to [email protected] no later than February 14, 2008. That's two weeks from today!
Don't write a book. A thoughtful paragraph or two is plenty.
The winner will receive prizes worth more than $300:
- Six months of Premium Services from the JibberJobber career site;
- [ADDED!] A download of the CASE webinar Students Today, Alumni Forever: Developing Lifelong Relationships With Our Alumni-in-Residence (presenter Carin Huffman Grinch, Asst. Director of Student Programs & Athletic Events at the University of Missouri (USA) Alumni Association);
- Your choice of any one of these three higher ed books:
- Advancing Higher Education in Uncertain Times by Larry D. Lauer;
- Shakespeare, Einstein, and the Bottom Line: The Marketing of Higher Education by David L. Kirp; or
- Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More by Derek Bok; and
- A cool custom-designed Innovation Award badge (shown above) to put on your blog, your Facebook profile, your personal web page or anyplace else you dare.
Even if you don't win the prize, this should spur some creative thinking – which is, after all, one goal of Alumni Futures. I'll share some of the non-winning entries in a future posting as well.
Link to Katie Konrath's Contest (which inspired me)
OK, fire away!