Twice a week at the University of California, Davis, a few dozen undergraduate students can be found in the Student Startup Center inside the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center, tackling key climate issues with the help of industry professionals and university experts. It's part of a new class dedicated to fostering the relationship between academia and industry by encouraging students to stop thinking like students and start thinking like entrepreneurs.

In "Innovation for Impact," a class also known as "Hacking 4 Climate" that was offered for the first time this fall and will be offered in the winter quarter, six teams of five students are assigned to investigate an environmental issue. During the investigation, which involves speaking with companies, advocates and other issue stakeholders, the students search for gaps that could lead to opportunities for a business-based solution in the form of a startup.

Read the full story at UC Davis Engineering News