VILLANOVA, Pa. – Synonymous with innovation and technological excellence, Silicon Valley is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations, as well as countless small start-up companies. At Villanova University, The Center for Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE Center) is a driver of academic and professional development opportunities in the related areas of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. For the second consecutive year, the ICE Center will bring students from across the University’s schools and colleges to Silicon Valley, Jan. 6-11, for the “Villanova in the Valley” program. 

Villanova in the Valley is designed to expose students from across the University to the innovative, creative, and entrepreneurial ecosystem of Silicon Valley. Students will meet and network with Villanovans working in the Valley, as well as numerous others who make the Valley go. This year’s Villanova in the Valley cohort includes 15 students from across the University whose academic interests range from Chemical Engineering and Finance to Nursing and Communication. The group will make site visits at Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, SRI, Mojiva, Genentech, and more. 

“Villanova students are increasingly interested in concepts of Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship,” said II Luscri, Director of the Center for Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. “Villanova in the Valley harnesses that energy and immerses our students in one of the greatest innovation ecosystems, Silicon Valley.” 

Added Luscri, “This program is a great example of the strong Villanova community, as our alumni in Silicon Valley are hosting students at their ventures and organizations throughout this Villanova in the Valley experience.” 

Villanova in the Valley events include a Jan. 8 reception at Google, featuring a keynote address from John L. Hennessy '73 COE, a Villanova University alumnus and President of Stanford University. Villanova University President, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, will introduce Dr. Hennessy. Multiple academic Deans from across the University are also scheduled to attend. 

The ICE Center has a multi-disciplinary, cross-college focus at the University, fostering cross-college learning and embedding creative, innovative, entrepreneurial thinking more deeply within the campus culture. For more information on the ICE Center visit www.VillanovaICE.com

About the Center for Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship (ICE Center)
The ICE Center, located within the Villanova School of Business (VSB), is at the forefront of Villanova University's strategy to foster cross-college and interdisciplinary opportunities for the collaborative pursuit of knowledge. The ICE Center advances the Augustinian vision by embedding creative problems solving and opportunity recognition more deeply in the Villanova culture through the development and promotion of initiatives in the related areas of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

About Villanova University
Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University’s five colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing and the Villanova University School of Law. As students grow intellectually, Villanova prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them.