Mike Roberto – Bryant IDEA Creator

Name:  Michael Roberto

Hometown: Ivoryton, CT

College/University Attended: Harvard

Graduation Date:   1991

Major/Minor: Economics

Current Occupation: Professor

What is the Bryant IDEA Program?

IDEA is an experiential learning program in which students learned to apply the design thinking process to “real world” problems.   They learned about the innovation process in a true learning by doing mode.    They had 72 hours to create innovation solutions to these problems, using the principles of design thinking. 

What motivated or inspired you to create the IDEA Program?

I wanted to create something that was quite different than the usual classes at Bryant.  I also had in mind several goals and objectives beyond simply teaching certain academic content. I wanted first-year students to meet new people, bond together as a class, and build relationships with faculty and staff members here on campus.   Perhaps most importantly, I wanted to establish a connection between a student mentor (junior or senior in our ODK leadership honor society) and each first-year student. 

What was your favorite part of Bryant’s first IDEA Program?

I loved the Marshmallow Challenge.  It was a great, high-energy way to start the program.  The lessons clearly had an impact on the first-year students.  However, my favorite part was wandering into the classrooms and watching students brainstorm, exchange ideas, and build off of one another’s suggestions.  Seeing the teams at work, and watching what they came up with in such a short time – that was incredible. 

What are your hopes and goals for the future of this program?

We learned a great deal during this first run of the program.  We have not tried to run something so ambitious at Bryant during my tenure here.  The logistics alone were daunting to manage.  We had to move roughly 900 people around on a tight timetable, including moving everyone into and out of Providence one afternoon.  We have gathered a great deal of feedback and suggestions as part of our after-action review process.   The feedback has been incredibly positive overall, but we have received some terrific recommendations about how to enhance the program.  We plan to make some changes that will make this much better next year. 

How has the IDEA Program impacted your life?

I had an opportunity to assemble and lead an amazing team of people to implement this program.  Our leadership team proved to be an amazing set of people who were dedicated, hard-working, and highly creative.  The more than 120 mentors who worked on the program made an impact on me as well, particularly the student mentors.  They gave so much of their time to this program, and they served as such great role models for our first-year students.  They amazed me.  I learned a great deal from them.   Perhaps most importantly, I learned that you can bring a vision to life, but you can’t do it alone.  You have to assemble an incredible coalition of people to execute such a major initiative.  I learned a lot about how to put together that type of network.