Petrick Idea Center
The Petrick Idea Center is where a liberal arts education meets true problems, and where students from every background come together to solve them. Like a greenhouse, we plant ideas early, water them with real resources, and give them room to grow. Some grow into companies, some grow into better questions, we believe each matter.
All you need is an idea you cannot stop thinking about. The rest of the Center exists to help you find out what it could become.
The Petrick Idea Center reflects Illinois Wesleyan's belief that the liberal arts, paired with innovation and entrepreneurship, can shape a better future.
The Petrick Idea Center is designed for students to:
- Take action on an idea that you can檛 stop thinking about: our job as a center is to help you find out what that idea could become
- Turn an idea into a venture: through studios, workshops and one-on-one mentorship
- Get close to real capital: connect with early-stage investors, pitch at the Titans New Venture Challenge and complete your first raise through SAFE
- Build with your hands: a makerspace and prototyping labs is open to students from every major
- Build with a real partner: our Industry Accelerator pairs student teams with a corporate partner on real-world problems, from first build to pitch
Where Ideas Become Reality
Petrick is where disciplines come together, ideas expand, and creativity turns into production.
Built on the pillars of innovation - curiosity, observation, networking, association and the courage to launch. It檚 a place for creation, discovery, experimentation.
That is the future being built at Petrick.
About the Building
Discover how the Petrick Idea Center is preparing students to explore their curiosity through the liberal arts, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Ben Hage, Director of the Petrick Idea Center
We will give our undergraduates the space, the tools, the resources, and the chance
to build solutions to whatever vital problems they believe are worth solving. That's
what the Petrick Idea Center is for.
Learn More
Join Our Newsletter
Stay up to date with all the happenings at the Petrick Idea Center.
To learn more about how you can invest in the Petrick Idea Center project, please contact the Director of the Petrick Idea Center Ben Hage.