Six pods represent innovation at UNC

UNC is thinking outside the box — by thinking inside the box.

On Wednesday, six closed wooden boxes were assembled and placed in the quad, each displaying a graphic poster of global topics such as malaria, disability and the origin of the universe.

This afternoon, the University will open these boxes to reveal how the UNC faculty, students and alumni are addressing or solving the problem displayed.

“We are responding to the biggest problems of our time,” said Michelle Bolas, program director of Innovate Carolina. “Our school of public health is out constantly seeking what the huge public challenges that the world faces.”

The project, called “Outside In: 2015 Chancellor’s Innovation Summit,” is the culmination of Carolina Initiative’s five-year innovation road map and a product of the collective work of more than 150 people.

“We’re combining the work of faculty, students, alumni — all of the work that’s being done on this is from those three groups,” said Judith Cone, special assistant to the chancellor for innovation and entrepreneurship.

“We’re creating experiences, so that the people who come to this summit hold those ideas very powerfully in their heads.”

The summit itself is a day-long event where local entrepreneurs, potential benefactors and frontrunners in innovation will meet with Chancellor Carol L. Folt and her staff to discuss collaboration and donations to the University.

And through these boxes, UNC’s creatives decided to show, not tell.

“The presentation in this form is really about raising our voices and making sure that we have a platform for the community understanding itself and the kind of work that’s going on everyday around us,” said UNC advertising professor and creative director Dana McMahan.

McMahan, who spent Wednesday assembling the boxes in a cowboy hat, said the boxes are a new way for students to visualize innovation.

“It’s disruptive on one level, but on another level, it’s really more about being immersive and finding opportunities to engage people in ways that they really haven’t before,” he said.

Both McMahan and Bolas said the hardest part about this project was choosing only six boxes — but choosing a limited number of issues ensured that each issue received proper attention.

The boxes are a way of showcasing the innovation at UNC in an unconventional, yet effective way, said Cone.

Junior Ashley Francis, who helped McMahan assemble the boxes, said she appreciated the opportunity to be involved.

“I feel like I’m a part of something big on the UNC campus that could be used for future generations down the road,” she said.

Cone said this project is a way to represent UNC’s accomplishments in innovation in a way outside typical PowerPoint presentations or indoor meetings.

“We wanted people to experience this. You can think of these installations almost as art,” she said.

“To make the point, I can tell you we’re addressing outside challenges and bringing solutions and partnership to the community — or I can have you experience it.”

@RyanSchocket

arts@dailytarheel.com