Ami Stuart

Biography

Ami Stuart is an alumnus of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations where she earned both an undergraduate (BS 2010) and master’s (MS 2022) degree. With a focus on human resources and keen interest in micro-organizational behavior. She has been employed full time with Cornell University for 22 years, for the past 13 years she has focused on designing experiential learning via hackathons to Cornell University, Cornell Tech, and Weill Cornell Medicine, and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar students across all degree programs, fields of study, and colleges. Through these immersive experiential weekend events students deep dive into a topic, hone their skills, and apply classroom learning to real world applications while working in inter-disciplinary teams. Collaboration with faculty, industry, and community partners influence and shape programming. Partnerships with faculty and staff from all of Cornell’s colleges, departments, as well as other universities ensure a diversity of participants, perspectives, and promotes knowledge sharing.

Faculty from a variety of universities have conducted (and published) research in areas of team dynamics, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation at the hackathons. Microsoft sponsored a case study written about the Digital Agriculture Hackathon. Curriculum has also been developed around hackathon programming affording students the ability to receive academic credit for participating. Stuart incorporates her study of micro-organizational behavior to introduce conditions and constraints to produce desired, measurable outcomes in student participants. Several hackathon projects, with continued work by the student(s), have become VC backed, revenue generating companies.

Stuart has organized, designed, and facilitated over 75 hackathons, and been an advisor to numerous hackathons for corporate and institutional partners. Hackathon programming includes, and has included, Animal Health, Human Health, Digital Agriculture, Human Performance, DEI, VR, Fintech, Data Science, Hospitality, Human Trafficking, Disabilities, Radiology, Sustainability, Human Resources, and nonprofits.

Stuart was asked to design a practicum to support the University-wide undergraduate entrepreneurship minor. Combing lecture hours with participation in the corresponding hackathon students will be able to earn 1.5 credits by enrolling in Creativity Sprint: An Entrepreneurship Hackathon starting in Fall 2023. This is another way to introduce students to applied science, innovation, and the power they have to shape the future.

Education

MS School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
BS School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University