Designing Real-World Solutions

3 credits · Undergraduate

Move beyond the classroom and work with campus organizations innovating on real-world problems. In this hands-on, experiential course, students apply an innovation process to an organization's real-world problem and develop a detailed, viable proposal ready for campus partners to implement. Students who complete this course build a strong foundation in real-world project work, understand innovation as a process and have a clear example of their ability to work through the innovation process.nnOur campus partners will outline areas where they are looking for innovative solutions. We will work in small multidisciplinary teams, in collaboration with these campus partners to co-design solutions. While this is a new course, partners and projects from a related program have included organizations such as Grounds Services working on switching to electric tools, Bike Safety on helmet usage, and the Office of Student Engagement on effective communication. Throughout the quarter, we will move from problem identification through concept development and viability planning to early prototyping and handoff to partners for implementation. We will use design thinking to identify needs, prototyping to explore solution concepts, and business modeling to ensure viability. Outside of class, you will be expected to spend time with your partner, exploring the challenge and co-designing potential solutions, as well as team time working through the innovation process. The final deliverable will be a detailed presentation to your partner on the concept you have developed, how it will be resourced, and what the next steps are to full implementation. To get a quick start, we will form teams ahead of the first class. You will be asked to submit a short personal statement video as an application to the class. Dropping the class after we have started will make it hard for the rest of your team and is discouraged. No prerequisites or previous experience required. Applications are due November 13th at 12 noon.