Education Archive

CoCo launches “d.school @ CoCo”

April 11, 2012 | By
dball
CoCo launches “d.school @ CoCo”

CoCo is bringing the design-thinking movement to the Midwest with the launch of d.school @ CoCo, an innovation school based on the world-renowned d.school at Stanford University. d.school @ CoCowill offer classes and workshops on design thinking to individuals and larger organizations. The school will be led by Anna Love-Mickelson who is a former Fortune-500 innovation leader and currently teaches design thinking at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). Classes will be taught by Love-Mickelson as well as other coaches certified by the d.school at Stanford. “We’ll be using the same great curriculum that is used on campus in California. However, because we are in Minnesota and operating within the CoCo community, we will also looking to prototype new ways of solving local problems by enabling radical collaboration at the community level,” Love-Mickelson said. Classes and workshops will include:

  • Crash Course – a 2-hour introduction to design thinking methods and mindsets. The first class is on April 20.
  • Design Thinking Workshop – Three half-day, hands-on sessions that explore the design thinking methodology more thoroughly. The first Workshop series will be held May 7-9.
  • Design Thinking Bootcamp – Designed after the Stanford d.school’s flagship course, Bootcamp gives executives hands on experience leading a design-thinking project from start to finish. The first Bootcamp will be held Sept. 26 – 28.

Anna Love-Mickelson, director of d.school @ CoCo

“One of the most exciting things for us at the d.school is hearing how past d.schoolers are spreading design thinking. We are excited to see how this new venture impacts the Minnesota community,” said Evelyn Huang, Lecturer, Executive Education at the d.school at Stanford. The opening of the d.school @ CoCo represents a big step for CoCo and coworking movement in general. “We are building a community of members who are naturally inquisitive and creative.” said CoCo founder Kyle Coolbroth. “the d.school @ CoCo makes our collaborative environment available for leaders in the area to learn design thinking methods and fully experience a collaborative community.” More information about d.school @ CoCo is available at http://dschool.cocomsp.com.

SaaS Camp

April 9, 2012 | By
dball
SaaS Camp

April 21
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
CoCo Minneapolis

Come learn more about SaaS and network with fellow SaaSers. Ideal for practitioners building SaaS application, entrepreneurs running SaaS businesses, vendors & educators of SaaS.

Your instructor, Leif Larson, is CEO of Workface, a MN-based SaaS company with more than 110,000 users, and is arguably the most knowledgeable person in Minnesota on SaaS models.

Instructor’s statement:
“I think I can save SaaS-based businesses here in Minnesota a lot of time, energy, blow-ups, and money by sharing what I’ve learned growing my venture backed company and rubbing elbows with executives at some of the largest SaaS companies out there.

This is a serious class with a tuition cost of $199, which will help defray space, lunch and printing costs.

Instructor’s guarantee:
“If you are not satisfied that you have gained incredible knowledge, and your day was not worthwhile, we will issue a complete refund.”

> More information and registration

 

The power of purple corn

January 5, 2012 | By
dball
The power of purple corn

Wednesday, Jan. 25
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
CoCo Minneapolis

CoCo Member Bill Petrich, CEO of Suntava, (recently featured in the Star Tribune) will talk about his company’s breakthrough product: a natural substitute for Red Dye No. 40, made from Peruvian purple corn.

Bill will talk about the challenges he faces in trying to grow the business and ask for ideas from attendees.

We’ll even serve up some purple corn in the form of homemade “chicha” (a traditional Peruvian soft drink) and purple corn chips. Come learn about an innovative business model and offer your ideas!

This is a members-only event.

Register at Eventbite

CoCo welcomes The Foundation

October 17, 2011 | By
dball
CoCo welcomes The Foundation

Besides coffee, it’s technology that keeps our members humming. If the Wi-Fi is on the blink, or if a laptop is down, it’s an emergency.

That’s why we’re pleased to announce a partnership The Foundation, a company that is known for providing comprehensive IT support to creative businesses. Now they’ll be bringing concierge IT services to CoCo members.

The Foundation works with both Macs and PCs and all manner of networks and data storage. But what’s noteworthy is that as an Apple Value Added Seller, The Foundation is able to provide warranty repair services on all Apple products. What’s more, their repair depot is only minutes away. So, if your machine bites the dust, you don’t have to chase out to the Apple store. The Foundation comes to you.

In fact, The Foundation has gone so far as to create an outpost at CoCo Minneapolis. You’ll find them at the campsite nearest the front desk. Just look for the distinctive orange banners. On many days, you’ll see Matt Woestehoff and other Foundation crew members hanging out in the space. Matt is available for any tech questions free of charge, so feel free to approach him.

In addition to tech support, The Foundation is planning a series of educational classes, focused on personal and business technology, to CoCo. Look for class and workshop announcements soon!

Meet Meg, our new coworking librarian

June 23, 2011 | By
dball
Meet Meg, our new coworking librarian

Earlier this year marketing guru Seth Godin created a bit of a stir with his post about the future of libraries. This line in particular caught a lot of peoples’ attention:

The next library is a place, still. A place where people come together to do co-working and coordinate and invent projects worth working on together. Aided by a librarian who understands the Mesh, a librarian who can bring domain knowledge and people knowledge and access to information to bear.

Across town, Meg Knodl, a Senior Librarian in Communications and Community Engagement at Hennepin County Library, also noticed Godin’s post.

A quick aside: you may know Meg from UnSummit or Social Media Breakfast. What you may not know (and what Meg is too modest to tell you) is that she’s kind of a rockstar in the world of library science. In fact, as I write this, she’s heading to New Orleans to be recognized by the Library Journal as a 2011 Mover and Shaker.

Last month, Meg approached us with a brilliant idea: could she try to create a coworking librarian position at CoCo?

There was only one possible answer: “How soon can you start?”

So, please join us in welcoming Meg Knodl as the world’s first Coworking Librarian (as far as we know!). She will be helping us to develop a philosophy and approach toward programming, which is the professional word for all the social, cultural and educational events and activities that support our coworking community.

Meg will be coworking at both the St. Paul and Minneapolis locations on Wednesdays. (The other days of the week, she’ll still be at Hennepin County Library). If you have ideas about programs you’d like to participate in, attend or offer, please contact Meg at megknodl@gmail.com. Of course, Meg will also available for research and resource questions.

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