What makes for a great fit with a partner organization?
Great projects are not only a result of well-scoped challenges, but also of committed partners. An ideal partner organization for the Senior Design Challenge is:
Committed
- A dedicated liaison is engaged with the student team through regular check-in meetings and email communication—we recommend budgeting 1 hour per week to interface with the students.
- Cares deeply about solving the chosen problem, and is serious about implementing the feasible components of the students' proposed innovation.
- Available to come to campus twice per term for kick-off meetings and end-of-term presentations.
- Willing to invest in project costs, particularly pertaining to research and prototyping expenses.
Open-Minded
- Understands the human-oriented nature of design thinking, and is willing to frame challenges in an open-ended manner.
- Comfortable in ambiguity and willing to walk through it with the student team.
- Willing to test and implement prototypes in their organization and/or with their user group during the course's duration.
Optimistic
- Believes in the potential of design thinking to lead our students to a great solution.
- Embraces a "yes, and" attitude and seeks to add positive energy to the project.