Student Resource Spotlight: Jarvis Innovation Center
The first aspect that I want to talk about is the space itself. The Jarvis Innovation Center is located in the lower level of the DePaul Center building in the loop campus. When you walk in, you enter the main lobby area which is a really cool space and is pictured to the right. As you can see, there is a giant screen which is used for all kinds of purposes for different events. There are also some cool arcade cabinets in the lobby as well as all of the seating you can see and a kitchen. If you move further in you will find the conference room and many study rooms, as well as the VR lab. Then, the final main room is the workspace area which has a ton of modern PC workstations.
The events that are put on at the center are, in my opinion, some of the best at DePaul. Being that it is a center for innovation, it focuses on events that relate to technology, especially anything happening in Chicago. Some examples of recent events that have taken place in the center are career talks with employees and executives from top tech companies in the city, as well as workshops for learning and trying out cutting edge technology. One of my favorites happens every Friday, and it’s simply a free event where DePaul students can come and use the virtual reality systems at the center. On top of these events, there are also just really cool resources at the center. For example, there are a few 3D printers, and any student can come and use them for a class project or really anything they want.
The last aspect I wanted to talk about relates to the name: Jarvis Innovation Center. The name Jarvis comes from Eugene Jarvis who is a DePaul Game Design Resident and also the creator of some of the most popular arcade games of all time; namely Defender, Robotron: 2084, and Stargate. He made a major donation to the College of Computing and Digital Media, and part of that was to establish the Jarvis Innovation Center. Being that a major industry professional is the namesake for this amazing resource, it has strong connections built in from the start. The focus in this part of the university is completely on connecting students with the industry they want to work in, and I think that is especially valuable given all of the tech possibilities in Chicago.
As I mentioned early, the Jarvis Innovation Center is one of my favorite places to study on campus. However, it’s so much more than that. It offers really cool things to do, events to attend, workspaces to create projects and connect with other students, and so much more. This is a part of DePaul that is not talked about enough, and is an aspect you cannot take for granted if you are looking to explore the technology field.
~Jeff