There’s a new space on campus for students to collaborate, connect and bring ideas to life. The Cove, an extension of the CREATE Institute located on the ground floor of Viets Tower, is designed to support and encourage interdisciplinary exploration between all members of the MSOE community. The space will continue to create transformative learning experiences that connect academic, societal and industry needs. Kristen McNeill, program coordinator in the CREATE Institute, explained the Cove serves as a connection to other resources on campus.

“MSOE has an expansive network to support exploration, integration and value creation. The Cove will help individuals navigate the network and ensure they have the support they need throughout their lifelong educational journey,” said McNeill.

McNeill plans to host workshops, open lab hours, networking activities, guest speakers and other events in the Cove to help students grow as leaders of character, responsible professionals, passionate learners and value creators.

“We hope to create a community that empowers all students to explore the changing world,” said McNeill. “Through Cove programming, we hope students recognize that by collaborating with others and persisting through challenges, they can create extraordinary social, societal, economic and personal value.”

The Cove is open to all students, faculty, and staff with an emphasis on community engagement with alumni, corporate and community partners. A variety of tools are available for use, including 3D printers, Cricut Cutter machines, hand tools and other supplies to support prototyping. A portion of the materials were funded through the Uihlein/Spitzer Endowment and hand tools were donated by Milwaukee Tool. Additional resources will be added in the future to continue to support student exploration and ideation.

The Cove will add to an existing network of support, providing students with exceptional experiences. “All students are unique, and our goal is to exceed expectations of support for all students interested in taking their learning to the next level through exploration, integration and value creation.”

McNeill looks forward to the collaboration and endless possibilities for exploration that will occur in the Cove. “The CREATE Institute is thrilled to bring this new resource to campus. We look forward to collaborating with departments, programs, and resources across campus to support existing initiatives, develop new opportunities and create exceptional value for our campus community.”

The guest speakers, workshops, networking activities and other events will launch in March after break week. Until then, the Cove has weekly programming to get students’ creative juices flowing. Weekly programming includes:

Mindset Mondays | Mondays | 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to stop by the Ladish Co. Entrepreneurial Space and engage with the weekly Mindset Challenge.

Ideation Hour | Wednesdays | 2–4 p.m.
Located in the Ladish Co. Entrepreneurial Space, this is a great opportunity for all students who are curious about the entrepreneurial mindset, have a business idea that they want to further develop, or just want to learn about ideation and chat with Gene Wright, director of the Innovent Center.

Open Lab Hours | Tuesday–Friday | 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Students, faculty, and staff can use equipment and get additional support on projects from the idea phase to the design stage from CREATE staff and CREATE student fellows.