Mayo and NASA Build Minnesota's STEM Workforce

When John Hicke graduated from St. John's University in 2020, he already had something most biology majors don't: hands-on experience evaluating Mayo Clinic medical technology for cancer patients. That experience landed him at Medtronic and launched a thriving career in medical devices.

Hicke is one of over 700 students who've gone through Innovation Scholars, a Minnesota program that pairs undergraduates from 15 private colleges with cutting-edge projects from Mayo Clinic, NASA, and local medtech companies. The program just celebrated its 20th anniversary this spring.

Here's how it works: Four students from different majors team up with an MBA student leader to tackle real scientific challenges. A biology major might work alongside computer science, economics, and entrepreneurship students to research new medical patents or assess whether a NASA invention could succeed in the marketplace.

The program was founded by John Meslow, a Medtronic veteran who spent his retirement connecting Minnesota's liberal arts colleges with the state's booming health care sector. He believed that solving complex problems required diverse thinking, not just science degrees.

The results prove him right. Students evaluated more than 100 technologies by 2019, leading to 447 patent filings and 121 issued patents. Twenty-seven technologies got licensed, turning classroom projects into real medical solutions.

The Ripple Effect

The impact extends far beyond individual projects. Nearly 80% of program alumni pursue graduate education, with 20% earning PhDs, 19% becoming doctors, and 28% completing MBA programs.

Students consistently rank teamwork, interdisciplinary learning, and handling ambiguity as their biggest skill gains. These aren't typical undergraduate outcomes, but they're exactly what Minnesota's medtech industry needs.

For Hicke, now a senior clinical research specialist managing cardiac trials at Medtronic, the connection is clear. "I definitely wouldn't be where I am today without having that accelerated education and starting to work full-time at a company like Medtronic," he said.

Program director Rebecca Hawthorne, a former St. Catherine University professor with a Stanford PhD, oversees the initiative today. She emphasizes that students often enter as strangers from different academic worlds and emerge as functional teams ready for professional challenges.

The program proves that liberal arts students belong in labs and innovation spaces. When an organic chemistry major collaborates with an entrepreneurship student on real Mayo or NASA projects, both learn skills no textbook can teach.

Minnesota's private colleges are building the state's next generation of STEM leaders, one interdisciplinary team at a time.