New year-long UofL courses offer immersive experience with enduring impact

Undergraduate students at the University of Louisville have begun delving into real-world initiatives while earning college credit in two new two-semester courses, “Elevator” and “Sandbox.”

Students enrolled in Elevator are working in small groups to lead real change in the Louisville community. Sandbox participants are building a software business from scratch, retaining 100% equity in the company. Although the classes are coordinated by the Center for Positive Leadership and Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business, students from the College of Arts & Sciences and J.B. Speed School of Engineering also may take the classes and earn 18 hours of credit toward their degrees. The goal is to encourage collaborative, multidisciplinary experience, accomplishments and professional networks that the students can directly build on for the next steps in their careers.

“Our vision is to make hands-on learning a common experience for our students, to give them deep knowledge and immediate job readiness” said Ryan Quinn, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship and academic director of the Center for Positive Leadership.

Elevator: Leading change

In the Elevator class, teams of students majoring in business administration, communications, criminal justice, management, sociology, sustainability or urban studies work at least 24 hours per week with local organizations to improve some aspect of life for Louisville residents. The students receive mentorship throughout the class from professional experts and faculty.

In the current Elevator class, four groups of students are working on projects to implement change in various areas of Louisville:

• Collaborate with Feed Louisville to reduce hunger in the city by identifying untapped sources of surplus food as well as areas of high food insecurity where needs are not being met. The team plans to then connect the sources of food with areas of need to close hunger gaps in the city.
• Grow Da Lat’s Gateaux and Café, a Vietnamese restaurant on the south side of Louisville, by increasing revenue, launching a digital presence and improving training for new employees. They also plan to explore options for a second location.
• Enhance the health and well-being of Louisville residents through the development, improvement and maintenance of greenspaces across the city. The group is working with members of the Greenprint initiative and the UofL Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute to help coordinate efforts among greening organizations.
• Reduce loneliness among seniors in the city with practical, community-grounded interventions. Working with the Envirome Institute, the students will conduct surveys, focus groups and interviews with community members and then create, implement and evaluate strategies tailored to the needs of the specific communities.

Upon completion of the class, students receive access to the Elevator network as a resource for mentorship and job placement. Elevator is supported by the Bufford Family Foundation and managed by the Center for Positive Leadership at the UofL College of Business. 

Sandbox: Building software businesses

The Sandbox class allows students from business administration, computer information systems, electrical engineering, graphic design and management to form interdisciplinary teams to identify and validate software products, sell them and seek venture financing. The students retain 100% of the equity in any company they build as part of Sandbox.

Small groups within the current class of 18 students are working on six ideas:

• Due Gooder: Tracks due dates so you don’t have to
• Daker: Home care app connecting clients and caregivers across languages
• Nexus Audit: Finance platform for small-to-midsize businesses to manage accounts payable and accounts receivable
• Night District: A nightlife application that provides guests with a platform to discover, explore and order drinks at bars and nightclubs
• Stuf’d: Digitized menu made for real-time ratings
• CUB: Truck repair invoice and waitlist system for shops

The Due Gooder group already has built and launched a software product that is being used by more than 2,000 schools worldwide. It has more than 10,000 users and is generating $6,000 recurring revenue per month.

In the course, facilitated by Jack Manzella, an instructor and entrepreneur-in-residence in the College of Business, students learn using proprietary technology along with students from other universities around the country which also offer Sandbox. Successful Sandbox companies developed at other institutions are now valued at over $120 million.