Published on April 17, 2026
Updated on April 20, 2026
By: Elizabeth Trower
At the University of Missouri, students don’t just imagine the future-they help build.
Recently, U.S. Bank partnered with Griggs Innovators Nexus, an entrepreneurial program at Mizzou, to host Idea Jam allowing students to collaborate and develop ideas that would enhance the student experience on campus. The idea behind the event was to provide students with an environment where they could bring their ideas to life in real time.
Three hours, a drawing board, a hypothetical $1 million budget and a team of innovative Tigers resulted in an impactful solution that would provide Tigers with a hot grab and go option on campus. The winning team concluded that one way to continue to enhance Mizzou, would be to create another dining option, one that prioritizes convenience for students.
The solution? A vending machine with built-in microwaves that serves hot meals in the MU Student Center.
All of the students that attended were divided up into teams, paired with individuals whom they had never met before. They all came from different areas and disciplines of campus, and were all different years in school, thus creating diverse teams, which was the magic of the event. “They were bringing their solutions through different lenses which helps to create better solutions,” Kelsey Raymond, executive director of entrepreneurship programs at Griggs Innovators Nexus, said.
At the start of the challenge, teams were given a bold prompt: “How might we deploy $1M to make a big change at Mizzou to improve the student experience?” and three hours to develop an idea and a presentation they could then use to pitch their idea. The winning team was to each be awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the U.S. Bank.
As the time passed by the students worked diligently to analyze the prompt and connect it to their own student experiences. This immediate shift into a fast-paced environment forced team members to rely on instinct, adaptability and clear communication from the very beginning which quickly helped them align their efforts toward a shared common goal which they used throughout every phase of the competition.
According to the winning team, their process and mentality going through the competition were both essential and key components to their team’s success.
“So we actually came to win. I knew that the most important part of winning was listening to everybody and recognizing everyone’s strength,” Jessica Osaze, a member of the winning team, said.
Leadership was another major component of success. Throughout the three hours the team had many opportunities to lead each other as they worked toward perfecting their grab and go idea.
“This was actually an opportunity to lead for a common goal and for students to become leaders. Everyone had the opportunity to talk and understand. Leadership is about teamwork, a common goal, bringing everybody together and having everybody move towards that goal. And that was the experience that we all had. That was the experience that we all shared,” Osaze, said.
Even more impressive than the idea itself was how the team brought the idea to life. They developed this solution without any assistance from technology. A feat that is truly rare in our digital age.
“None of us opened our computer until almost one hour before the time elapsed, and we opened it, because that’s when we started creating the PowerPoint for our pitch,” team member Ugonna Kanu said.
To top this victory off, after the team won, they discovered this idea had already been in progress for Mizzou—the team had simply supplied the missing piece. The team was then invited to pitch their idea to dining at the Student Advisor Board Meeting which left the team feeling both accomplished and excited about the future of the university.
“For us to be able to be part of that solution is just amazing,” team member Adidja Amisi said. “To hear that I am able to leave something at Mizzou that can help the school for the upcoming generations is a very fulfilling feeling.”
Idea Jam was a prime example of our Missouri Method, our hands-on learning by doing curriculum. It was an opportunity for students to challenge themselves, to think critically and to be in a space where they could collaborate with other Tigers. Our goal as an institution is to develop future leaders and empower them to put their creative minds to the test. Programs like Idea Jam showcase how Mizzou continues to cultivate leaders, inspire creativity and turn ideas into action, shaping a stronger campus and a brighter world.