VCU news

Rep. Eric Cantor toured the VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation with VCU President Michael Rao earlier today and met with students who are working on projects for the Martin Agency and for VCU’s Mary and Frances Youth Center.

“The VCU da Vinci Center plays a key role in making sure Virginia remains a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship,” Cantor said. “It’s exciting to see how the center harnesses the ingenuity of its students, spurs creativity and gives them opportunities to solve real world problems in new ways. These young entrepreneurs will graduate with the skills to get their ideas off the ground and start successful businesses that will change the way we live.”

The VCU da Vinci Center for Innovation, a collaboration of VCU’s schools of the Arts, Business and Engineering, serves as a hub for interdisciplinary innovation to prepare students for a career in product creation. Rao emphasized the center’s importance in supporting the economy of Virginia.

“As a leader who encourages entrepreneurship and collaboration in Congress, we’re excited for Congressman Cantor to see the VCU da Vinci Center in action. This is a place where students can use what they learn in real settings that make a difference in peoples’ lives and in the economic landscape of our region,” said Rao.

“As a national research university, we are committed to transformation, collaboration and strengthening the workforce with well-prepared, highly committed leaders who think deeply and achieve the highest expectations,” Rao added. “It is a roadmap for the future and I am very proud of my faculty colleagues — including the center’s director, Professor Kenneth Kahn — who are setting the standard for innovation and entrepreneurship, and the students whose work is so inspiring.”

Since the center's inception, students have created projects for a number of local partners, including developing a branding strategy for the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce i.e.* initiative, teaming up with Dominion Resources and the Science Museum of Virginia and working with The Baby Jogger Company, Dynamic Brands and Alfa Laval.