De Anza Innovation Center
Fostering Creativity to Develop Social & Environmental Solutions
- Led by the Business, CS, & Applied Tech Division
- Open to all currently registered De Anza students, in all majors.
- Supported by generous donors via the Foothill-DeAnza Foundation.
Unless otherwise noted, all events will be held on campus in the Business and Finance Village Center (AT 202).
Fall 2024: Startup Boot Camp
The free, non-credit Boot Camp is led by Prof. Rowland Chen, Business instructor and CEO of Silicon Valley Laboratory Inc.
- Eight teams were selected from across the campus, including CS, BUS, ECON, and COMM majors.
- All ventures selected have an element of technology and innovation, with an emphasis on social benefits.
- Six mandatory in-person workshops, Oct. 8-24, 2024, Tuesday & Thursday, 3-4:30 pm (room AT 202), focusing on value proposition, business modeling, funding, team building, pitching
- $750 total prize money.
- All are welcome to watch the pitch event on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 3-5 pm @ Forum 1
For more information, contact chenrowland@deanza.edu
Faculty Spotlight -
"Ethical Innovation in AI", Special Presentation by Rowland Chen, Thursday, November 7 from 2-3:30 pm on Zoom. All De Anza faculty and students are invited.
Winter, 2025: Practical Small Business Hub
Speakers from various business disciplines provide an overview of several areas that are critical to successfully launching and operating a small business. The speakers will identify issues, discuss "best practices", and suggest practical solutions. Students who currently have a small business or are planning to start a small business, either online or brick-and-mortar, are strongly encouraged to attend.
Jan 21 - Legal - formation, contracts
Feb 4 - Negotiation techniques
Feb 11 - Effective online marketing
Feb 25 - Accounting essentials for small business
March 4 - HR - team building, compensation, and legal issues
March 11 - Small business financing
For questions, please contact Dr. Karia kariamanisha@fhda.edu.
Speaker Series for Spring 2025: Stay Tuned!
Hear from industry experts on the latest trends in venture funding, technology innovations, and challenges and opportunities in venture development – focusing on artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, health, the environment, and social issues.
Annual Business Model Canvas Competition (BMC)
This annual business model competition is open to all De Anza students. Led by Dean Manisha Karia, the competition is a team-based event where students develop a business model within a given time based on a market opportunity identified by the judge.
Next BMC event Winter 2025.
photo: BMC participants, Spring, 2024.
Past Speakers
Speaker: Catherine Lin
Catherine Lin has more than a decade of experience in advertising, specializing in online marketing of products and working with clients such as Apple and Cadillac. She is currently the associate design director at Leo Burnett, a leading global ad agency. She was formerly art director at Kettle, a premier ad agency that integrates technology and creativity.
For information, contact Emily Garbe, PhD, garbeemily@fhda.edu
Speaker: Kevin McClelland
Kevin McClelland is a financial adviser with over 30 years of experience. He is on the Board of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce and chairs the Small Business Committee. He has been honored as Business Advocate of the Year by the San Jose Chamber of Commerce and received a Star Award from the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce. For information, contact Emily Garbe, PhD, garbeemily@fhda.edu.
Artificial Intelligence: Powers and Pitfalls
(Postponed to Spring 2025)
Speaker: Rowland Chen
Rowland Chen is the CEO of the Silicon Valley Laboratory and a Business instructor at De Anza. He has more than 40 years of experience as a scientist, engineer, management consultant, and educator who has worked with some of the largest and smallest companies in the world. Formerly a visiting scientist at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, he brings a unique perspective to the AI ecosystem.
(Image credit: prompt engineered by R. Chen, rendered by OpenAI's Dall-E)