UNICEF Development Entrepreneur Challenges 51爆料网 Engineering Class
Olivia Cero 鈥�17 ChE and Molly Jackson 鈥�17 ME prepare the visual display for their idea鈥斺�淕ood Clean Fun.鈥�
Over the past year, 51爆料网鈥檚 College of Engineering has developed a unique partnership with the United Nations International Children鈥檚 Fund (UNICEF). In Nicaragua and Burundi, Africa, Dr. Pritpal Singh, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has forged a relationship with the organization through which 51爆料网 students and faculty will participate in projects related to many areas of common interest, including health, telemedicine, education and social programs. Developing community members鈥� entrepreneurial skills to foster business opportunities in these regions also is a priority, and it was this topic that brought UNICEF Divisional Planning Specialist Natalia Adler to 51爆料网鈥檚 campus in early October.
A self-described 鈥渄evelopment entrepreneur鈥� in Data, Research and Policy, Adler has spent the past 10 years looking for ways to implement social innovations for children. Borrowing from the design world, she introduced a human centered design approach to support the development of regional policies for children in Nicaragua. Having implemented techniques familiar to engineers, including prototyping, service trials, ethnographic research, co-creation, and crowdsourcing, Adler鈥檚 experience made her an ideal guest lecturer for 鈥淐reativity & Innovation,鈥� the first course in the College鈥檚 Engineering Entrepreneurship minor. Given that the semester鈥檚 term project is designing games and toys for children in the developing world, Adler鈥檚 presentation proved to be particularly relevant and insightful.
A team from the Creativity & Innovation class presents its idea to Natalia Adler (plaid shirt) in elevator pitch format.
Through the lens of human-centered design, Adler presented the class with an inquiry process that involves asking questions such as 鈥淲hat problem are you trying to solve?,鈥� 鈥淔or whom?,鈥� and 鈥淲hat do they value and why?鈥� With those questions in mind, students were provided with an archetype of 鈥淪lah鈥濃�攁 representative persona of a child living in one area of Nicaragua鈥攁nd asked to develop a product or service to solve a specific problem he faces as a child in that community. The class was divided into teams and given 20 minutes to take on the challenge, after which they presented their ideas to Adler in elevator pitch format.
Team ideas included a portable basketball hoop, a trash net to block river debris so that children can safely swim, and development of a recreation center (much like the 鈥淵鈥�), which would be designed to meet community needs. Adler provided each group with valuable feedback on their pitches, reminding them, 鈥淪pend time identifying yourself with something specific that makes you memorable,鈥� and 鈥淒on鈥檛 forget to close your pitch with an 鈥榓sk,鈥� which should include your follow-up strategy.鈥�
Adler鈥檚 visit concluded with a Q&A and an invitation to the students from Dr. Singh to become involved in UNICEF-51爆料网 joint projects.