Business school’s new high-tech labs energize student experience

  School of Business   Entrepreneurship  

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – La Sierra University’s Zapara School of Business is helping students engage in real-world financial decision-making and entrepreneurship with two high-tech labs which opened this fall.

La Sierra University Vice President of Financial Administration David Geriguis, left, and Associate Vice President of Financial Administration Pamela Chrispens smile as they view the new Finance Lab at La Sierra’s Zapara School of Business. They cut the ribbon inaugurating its opening on Sept. 27. (All photos: Natan Vigna)
La Sierra University Vice President of Financial Administration David Geriguis, left, and Associate Vice President of Financial Administration Pamela Chrispens smile as they view the new Finance Lab at La Sierra’s Zapara School of Business. They cut the ribbon inaugurating its opening on Sept. 27. (All photos: Natan Vigna)
The new Finance Lab at the Zapara School of Business will allow students, staff and alumni opportunity to learn about stock markets and financial management.
The new Finance Lab at the Zapara School of Business will allow students, staff and alumni opportunity to learn about stock markets and financial management.
La Sierra University Provost Joy Fehr cuts the ribbon to the new Innovation Lab at the Zapara School of Business.
La Sierra University Provost Joy Fehr cuts the ribbon to the new Innovation Lab at the Zapara School of Business.
Zapara School of Business student and Troesh Team Coordinator Jonathan Thomas, right, shows Tom Zapara how a 3D printing system works during the Innovation Lab’s grand opening. The business school is named for Tom and his wife, Vi Zapara.
Zapara School of Business student and Troesh Team Coordinator Jonathan Thomas, right, shows Tom Zapara how a 3D printing system works during the Innovation Lab’s grand opening. The business school is named for Tom and his wife, Vi Zapara.
Jonathan Thomas demonstrates the 3D printing system for La Sierra University President Randal Wisbey.
Jonathan Thomas demonstrates the 3D printing system for La Sierra University President Randal Wisbey.
A MarkForged 3D printer at La Sierra University's new Innovation Lab.
A MarkForged 3D printer at La Sierra University's new Innovation Lab.
The new Innovation Lab includes four MarkForged Onyx 3D prototype printers, one MarkTwo 3D printer, iMac computers and other equipment for inspiring creativity and entrepreneurship.
The new Innovation Lab includes four MarkForged Onyx 3D prototype printers, one MarkTwo 3D printer, iMac computers and other equipment for inspiring creativity and entrepreneurship.
Dr. John Thomas, dean of the Zapara School of Business, speaking during the grand opening for the Finance Lab.
Dr. John Thomas, dean of the Zapara School of Business, speaking during the grand opening for the Finance Lab.

The Finance Lab, which utilizes StockTrak stock market simulation software, and the Innovation Lab, which offers industry-grade MarkForged 3D printers, are designed to influence individual thinking, analysis, and creativity with faculty serving as guides and resources for students as they forge career paths and build businesses.

The Finance Lab and its accompanying Investor Club was conceived and developed over the summer. StockTrak is a state-of-the-art leading provider of virtual trading applications for universities, corporations and the public. Over 1,000 professors in 30 counties and their 60,000 students use the stock market educational simulation and real-time trading platform. Students are able to participate in financial management and investing activities including trading stocks, options, futures, bonds and mutual funds from more than 50 global exchanges.

The lab’s ZSB Investor Club, open to La Sierra students, employees and alumni, will manage the growth of a $100,000 portfolio for the business school, with a future portfolio potential of $250,000 to invest. The portfolio is seeded with funds from donors and is supervised by the university’s controller and two business school faculty with expertise in finance. The club’s annual report, submitted to business school Dean John Thomas will be audited and made publicly available online.

Club leaders and more experienced members will be able to make trading decisions for the club portfolio by viewing the financials of publicly-traded companies, analyzing risk profiles and macroeconomic assessments of the economy among other activities. Club members will learn trading strategies for their own education and independent trading activities with their own portfolios. Students and La Sierra community members who want to use the StockTrak system must become members of the Investment Club and attend all club sessions and seminars. Neither the Investment Club nor any of its leadership or members will provide any direct stock trading advice to anyone.

Investor Club President Rolf Leitzke is planning biweekly meetings for the group featuring guest speakers and business school faculty discussing various stock market strategies and tactics. “It goes back to the core basics of finance and being knowledgeable about many areas. The more you know about the world around you, the better decisions you will make,” said Leitzke. The process of successfully buying and selling stocks comes down to a combination of good instinct and knowledge, he said.

Leitzke is a Master of Business Administration student at the business school specializing in finance and healthcare management. In December, he will take a level one exam toward earning a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. The certification is described as one of the highest awards in the investment industry and on par with a master’s degree.

As of October 18, the club had attracted the interest of about 25 students, Leitzke said. He was in the process of recruiting a club communications and marketing officer and planned to create a club web page. “Mainly I’m trying to get the word out there,” he said.

StockTrak will also sponsor a quarterly competition for students in which the winner will receive $500 for top performance in investing in a simulated environment.

“The Finance Lab provides students with a great hands-on experience of how capital markets function,” said Vice President of Financial Administration David Geriguis. “Students’ classroom work combined with the resources available in this lab exposes them to the contagious excitement of research, thorough analysis, risk-taking, and wealth creation. It is absolutely fascinating. Even faculty and staff may benefit from educational opportunities offered in this lab as they think about retirement investment strategies. La Sierra University is blessed to have such an innovative facility.”

Geriguis and Pamela Chrispens, associate vice president of financial administration led in a ribbon cutting ceremony Sept. 27 to inaugurate the new lab.

The Innovation Lab is outfitted with tall, industrial-style tables and stools in the middle of the lab, with 3D printers and iMac computers situated on counters around the room’s perimeter. The lab provides four MarkForged Onyx 3D prototype printers and one MarkTwo 3D printer which is capable of printing industrial-grade parts with high temperature fiberglass as well as kevlar, regular fiberglass, and carbon fiber. The system comes with Markforged browser-based 3D printing software, Eiger, which allows easy project collaboration. These top-tier industrial grade printers can make any sort of 3D prototype part and are cloud-managed. They are used by such powerhouse organizations as Google, Amazon, Ford, NASA, and the U.S. Air Force.

Included in the lab are five iMac computers providing the industry standard in creative cloud software, and a large format commercial printer for marketing students.

The lab functions as a 'maker space' where students, staff, and faculty can collaborate on new ideas, said Thomas.

Provost Joy Fehr, in her keynote talk for the Innovation Lab grand opening and ribbon cutting on Oct. 18 stated that the high-tech lab space is the first outcome of talks held earlier this year challenging faculty and school deans to come up with innovation think tanks and labs that can help the campus move into the future. “Dean Thomas, you’re the first to put together an actual facility to move forward our thinking in areas of innovation and expertise,” she said. “I’m excited. This is truly a remarkable opportunity for all of us.”

Thomas noted that the opportunity facing entrepreneurs today is being able to take a product to market within 30 days. “Can we challenge our students to come up with ideas that we can take to market? We want to provide the environment for students to think, to challenge themselves, be innovative, be creative, get excited about their discipline and change the world,” he said.

The two labs are emblematic of a growing trend in higher education to create a practical and dynamic learning experience in which the professor functions more as a source of support and expertise rather than as a solo act at the front of the classroom, says Thomas. “Experiential learning is the next big thing,” he said. “One of the criticisms in the marketplace of traditional education is that it is mainly theoretical. These new labs help bridge that gap between practical, applicable experience and theoretical knowledge and bring our students inside the business and entrepreneurial worlds to become creators and decision-makers."

To view a video compilation of the Innovation Lab, visit this link: vimeo.com/238891709

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