Tuesday, September 30, 2025, 12:45 PM - 1:45 PM EDT
Let them cook
Sebastian Munoz Dispa — marketing analytics program manager, University of Notre Dame Keough School of Global Affairs
It's 2023, I'm four years out of college, I've been trying to make our school's Instagram page take off and I've come to the realization that I no longer speak the same language as the students I see in our building every day.
How can you reach these students where they are and in a way that will seem authentic, engaging and sticks to brand and university standards?
You give your student intern your Instagram login, set them loose and let them cook.
Student interns provide a unique perspective and access to their peers. Your target student audience is made up of their classmates, friends and acquaintances. They know what they want to see, they know what they want to engage with and they know how to genuinely connect with each other.
During this session we will discuss how leveraging student interns can help you revamp your social media presence to reach students. We'll highlight our hits (like our 1–10 seriousness scale) and misses (like our T-shirt contest), and how an opportunity to work with your department can be excellent professional development for your students as well.
Design Thinking: A path to success
Dout Tschopp — EDGE Center director, Augustana College
A giant Silicon Valley tech failure is an example of what happens when you don't put the user's needs before anything else. It highlights the importance of Design Thinking and teaches us how this simple process could change the way we view life, no matter our career interest. This talk is to motivate you to dive deeper into Design Thinking and become an expert at whatever you do.
Never say no: Stakeholder management lessons from toddler negotiations
Amy Grace Wells — senior content strategist, Bixal
Inspired by the nighttime negotiations and drama of toddler put downs, this session draws unexpected parallels between the thought processes of toddler communication patterns and effective stakeholder management. Learn how to replace "no" with a strategic formula that maintains project or goal integrity while building lasting partnerships. Come away with practical techniques for navigating competing priorities without burning bridges.
10 ways to rethink innovation in higher ed
Mallory Willsea — consultant
Higher ed talks a lot about innovation — but too often, that conversation starts and ends with technology. True innovation goes beyond new tools and requires rethinking business models, student experiences and institutional strategy at every level.
In this fast-paced, high-impact session, we'll break down the 10 Types of Innovation — a framework used by the world's most disruptive companies — and apply it to higher education. You'll walk away with a new mental model for how to think about innovation in your work, your institution, and the industry at large.
What you'll learn:
- The 10 Types of Innovation framework — and why higher ed needs to embrace all of them, not just product and process improvements.
- How leading institutions are applying these principles to rethink student recruitment, engagement and operations.
- Why AI plays a role — but isn't the whole story when it comes to real transformation.
- How to shift your mindset from incremental improvements to breakthrough innovation.
Innovation isn't just about what you do, it's about how you think. This session will help you think bigger, move faster and drive more impactful change at your institution.
