2012 Showcase: Leading the way with innovation and excellence

Innovative ideas that solve problems and pave the way for success on campus will take center stage at this year’s Showcase event on Tuesday, March 27.

That’s when hundreds of University of Wisconsin–Madison staff and faculty from across campus will converge on the Memorial Union to share ideas, best practices and success stories during the 13th annual event.

Showcase, a joint project of the Office of Quality Improvement and the Office of Human Resource Development, offers a unique opportunity to learn from each other and share best practices.

In keeping with this year’s theme, “Leading the Way with Innovation and Excellence,” countless conversations will be triggered by the posters, break-out sessions, and a lunch-time keynote presentation on continuously improving outcomes and further strengthening the university’s position as an innovative world-class institution.

From 8-11 a.m. Great Hall will be open to explore 60 posters showcasing innovative ideas and to converse with the trailblazers who implemented them. It offers an opportunity to pick their brains and plan follow-up meetings.

“Each year people draw inspiration and some great ideas from Showcase that help them solve problems and work more effectively,” says Maury Cotter, OQI director.

Attendees will find an abundance of ideas to “steal” in areas such as:

• Innovative educational strategies and techniques;
• Creative uses of tools and technology;
• Merging of organizational units;
• Developing high-performing collaborations and partnerships;
• Administrative Process Redesign success stories;
• Using data to improve services to students and staff; and,
• Creating programs that reach outside the university’s walls.

Along with the posters, Showcase will offer several 45-minute breakout sessions during the morning for exploring selected topics in more detail. One highlight will be a series of “flash talks” on improvements to campus administrative processes, including those that people have found a way to discontinue.

The lunch event will include the keynote presentation by Interim Chancellor David Ward, accompanied by another set of “flash talks” to showcase successful educational innovations from a broad range of schools and colleges.

For more information about this year’s Showcase and to view posters and presentations from prior years, click here.

Showcase is free. Registration is requested – click here to register for the poster presentations and breakout sessions. A separate advance registration for the keynote, which includes a free box lunch, is required – click here for that.