Please read this post carefully :)

Dear Readers,

As we are working really hard here and have little time for maintaining this blog, we encourage you to read the Google translation of the polish version here.

Regards!
Weronika T. Adrian, Sławomir Gruszczyński, Eliasz Kańtoch & Daniel Prusak

How to make a million having no cash at hand?

Form the very beginning of our training, every day is intensively filled with classes. Today we had a series of very interesting presentations about turning ideas into business. It all began with lecture idea2company and ended with relevant exercises about factors related to the start-ups. The lectures were given by Prof. Donna Novitsky, who graduated from Stanford University having MBA form Harvard Business School and long experience in business.  

The lectures forced lively discussions. The team work exercises allowed for active participation of every of us in a problem solving process. This kind of exercise has been very motivating and allowed for effective learning.

At the end we had an opportunity to listen to the very interesting seminar given by Brad Feld, experienced entrepreneur, investor and VC, cofounder of many companies such as Foundry Group and TechSTARS.

Didn’t we forget something?

Right! Where is our first million?

This we won't tell at the moment… :)

Weronika T. Adrian, Sławomir Gruszczyński, Eliasz Kańtoch & Daniel Prusak

Educational system at Stanford, i.e. how do they do it in US

Spending a week at the University we have had a chance to fell the local climate. The moment come at which certain schemes became visible, which are favored by the lecturers, and upon which the philosophy of teaching at Stanford is based. In general the approach to the student some how resembles business approach. Students are never left alone and practically at every level are encouraged to study and broaden their knowledge. It is obvious that each student is equipped with a laptop computer that can be used in classes, well prepared, having sufficient infrastructure with many power sockets and of course fast wireless internet access. But the the most interesting is the way of passing the knowledge. But it is easier to present it with the following points:   

Laboratories:

-         Unlimited access to the laboratories, classrooms for meeting and group work.

-         There is no biased judgment of the students and no unjustified forcing for studying irrelevant information, only straight to the point and real-life oriented material.

-         Individually adjusted program, about 80% of lectures are selectable.

-         High access to support materials, and novelties provided on the Univ. web page.

 

Lectures:

-        Lectures are given by highly qualified staff.

-       Every lecture is given in a friendly fashion, starting with easy and proceeding to more advanced information.

-        Lectures are recorded with the cameras.

-       There is a policy of taking questions form the audience with the approach that there are no stupid questions, only the answer can be stupid.

-        Every lecture ends with at least 10 minute long time for discussion.

-        The lectures are oriented at passing certain way of reasoning and approach rather than at killing students with the enormous amount of unbearable knowledge.

-         Very often lectures start with activities that allow the group to actively participate.

Every moment devoted to learning

This is probably the most interesting issue that is noticeable. Practically at every point of the campus there are possibilities to study, everywhere there is information streaming and every moment is good opportunity to learn. Each student having internet access either with their computer, smart phone or a tablet can watch lectures, even waiting for a bus at a bus stop. Even personal notebooks available at the library have tips and information on how to study at Stanford and also important supplementary information about healthily living, efficient resting, and sport activities to keep the right balance between studying and physical fit. Materials available on the internet are well prepared, and at the same time you don’t need to loose time for information searching.    


Electronic systems - present everywhere

As an example we can recall interactive on-line test showing the modular functionality of a human brain by means of a funny cartoon story. Test is based on the HDBI model, see yourself the sample:

What is more interesting, all puzzles of teaching at Stanford became a one solid piece and can be personalized for specified topics according to current needs. By that every student or group of students can have individually adjusted theme profile, which is controlled by means of individual student accounts, with large flexibility for modification and adjustment.

It is seen that the system is well thought and modular. Practically everybody can learn new interesting stuff without stress and in their own timing. There is no surprising to see students seating on the Univ. lawn with their computers, talking professional stuff in theme groups, or simply discussing scientific topics at the entrance stairway.   

Weronika T. Adrian, Sławomir Gruszczyński, Eliasz Kańtoch & Daniel Prusak

TOP500 Group Photo

We are proud to announce that we have just received our group photo taken the first day of our classes. In the photo there are all participants of the first edition of Top500 program, Stanford Staff and honorary guests.  

Greetings for all!!!

Weronika T. Adrian, Sławomir Gruszczyński, Eliasz Kańtoch & Daniel Prusak

Official start of Top 500 Innovators program

Monday the 17th of Oct. the Top 500 program has been finally launched.

FOTO: Daniel Prusak (c)

Do you recognize the people in the front row??? ;)

We have been welcome with short speeches given by:

• Paul Marca - Director Stanford Center for Professional Development (first to the right, front row),
• Stephen Monismith - Director Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
• Prof. Piotr Moncarz - Director of Top 500 Innovators program (third to the left),
• Tad Taube - Honorary Consul of The Republic of Poland (fourth to the left),
• Jerzy Orkiszewski - CEO US-Polish Trade Council (first to the right),
• Mark Chandler - vice Meyer of San Francisco (second to the right),

The guest of honor at the inauguration was Professor. Leszek Balcerowicz, who in a brief and interesting speech, emphasized the role of innovation in creating economic growth (the third to the right at the group photo). After the official part the Professor eagerly talked with participants of the program.

FOTO: Daniel Prusak (c)

FOTO: Daniel Prusak (c)

Professor Balcerowicz spoke about the Authority of the AGH University with high repute, and asked to send cordial greetings to Prof. Antoni Tajdus Rector of AGH.

Weronika T. Adrian, Sławomir Gruszczyński, Eliasz Kańtoch & Daniel Prusak

Stanford University

Stanford University was founded in 1891 by the Stanford family. The motivation for establishing the University was to help young talented people acquire knowledge. On Sunday, October 16, we had the opportunity to walk for the first time through the University area.

We were amazed by the richness and diversity of nature surrounding the university buildings. The atmosphere on campus is encouraging and inspires intensive research and comprehensive development. Students have many opportunities for active use of leisure time. There are sports facilities available such as swimming pools, gyms, a stadium, and tennis courts. There is a lot of information and notices of open lectures, student actions and cultural events everywhere. Interestingly, this information is not only posted on the notice boards, but also in prominent places on campus (in a form of banners), in elevators, and of course the Internet.

Stanford University is built in an interesting architectural style inspired by Italian architecture. The largest collection of Auguste Rodin works outside of Paris is located at the campus.

Encouraged by the interesting history and tradition of the University, we are ready for the challenges ahead!

Accomodation and first impression

We are pleased to announce that we have started our internship training program in the heart of Silicon Valley. We live in California in the town of Mountain View. As already mentioned, we are staying in very nice guest house, called Oakwood, surrounded by palm trees. Everyone here feels the unique atmosphere of new technologies and innovations.

The town in which we live is quite unusual. As GOOGLE has a headquarters here, we have free wireless Internet in the entire Mountain View.
 

We immediately started to work and carry out assigned tasks. An interesting one was to fill custom electronic questionnaires which we filled out individually. Based on our answers, they assessed our abilities to make decisions / face challenges / take responsibilities and perform appropriate functions in a group.

From the very beginning of our stay, the atmosphere is very motivating, and every next hour brings new interesting surprises.