Logo created by student Emma Walk from the commercial and advertising arts program at CPI

The IDEA Hub, created in the fall of 2019 with the Entrepreneurial Pathway Plan in mind, provides sixth through 12th-grade students with resources they can use to help ideas become reality. The space at Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology is available after school and in the summer to students who attend CPI and its sending schools at Bald Eagle, Bellefonte and Penns Valley area school districts.

Students have the chance to work with experts and use resources to develop ideas they worked on in class or independently – by networking and strengthening skills needed to enhance their vision. It also aims to support student endeavors through its acronym, which stands for innovation, design, entrepreneurship and action.

The network of businesses and individuals participating in this endeavor include Corbett, Inc.; Siemens; Engine of Central Pennsylvania; and representatives from Penn State's Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship program; and Center for Science and the Schools that have helped with concept and curriculum.

The area that was once used to house the masonry program at CPI, now called the IDEA Hub, includes an open floor, two separate classroom spaces and a loft that users can access by a set of stairs.

Mission

To provide opportunities for students by expanding and deepening their understanding of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Vision

The IDEA Hub is a collaborative organization comprised of three Centre County school districts and CPI in partnership with local businesses and educational institutes dedicated to providing students with afterschool and summer opportunities, which foster mind and skill sets including communication, empathy, grit, reflection and teamwork to solve problems using the entrepreneurial design.

A future vision includes extending IDEA Hub opportunities through mobile and stationary experiences to students within the Engine of Central Pennsylvania region, northern tier and beyond.

“We really felt like it was necessary to do that,” Bellefonte Area School District Superintendent Michelle Saylor said. “We’re starting with our students, but all students essentially are our students. When we talk about equity, it’s about access to opportunities for all students.”

Goals

Fostering creativity, risk-taking and resilience

Providing opportunities and experiences for all students

Supplying onsite, mobile and satellite experiences

Creating a network of human and material resources

Logo provided by Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network, and used with permission

Grant

The IDEA Hub is made possible from a one-year $10,000 grant through the Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network. PSAYDN is an initiative that provides support to groups wanting to provide out-of-school resources for youth to enhance innovation and creativity.

“The Pennsylvania Statewide Afterschool Youth Development Network is thrilled to announce the development of Pennsylvania Youth Hubs," PSAYDN Director Laura Saccente said. "Through generous funding from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the three awarded hubs – Sunrise of Philadelphia, Inc.; Youthplaces, Inc.; and the Central Pennsylvania Institute (of) Science and Technology will lead the state in an innovative approach of working with, and on behalf of, students in entrepreneurship and career pathway opportunities."

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