Center for Design Thinking receives CAA grant to expand outreach and collaborate with off-campus design thinking efforts

Elon by Design received a $6,000 grant from CAA in support of its “Empowering Students to Lead Climate Resilient Change” project in collaboration with James Madison University and Drexel University. This project will further inform Design Thinking initiatives both locally and globally on how to best promote sustainability and resilience tools for students.

Elon By Design is excited to support the “Empowering Students to Lead Climate Resilient Change” CAA project objectives, bringing together an interdisciplinary group of Engineering and Graphic Design faculty and students from James Madison University, the Product Design and Design and Merchandising departments of Drexel University, and Elon University’s Elon by Design. To support this effort, INCO has awarded Elon by Design a $6,000 grant.

The goals of this collaboration are to create an adaptive suite of tools and learning experiences that help students develop mindsets and skill-sets necessary to address sustainability challenges resiliently and creatively across disciplines. Elon By Design will participate in these sessions, provide guidance on using tools, and share recommendations for designing an assessment instrument to evaluate the outcomes of undergraduate and masters-level students implementing these tools and learning experiences in their courses.

In the fall of 2023, Elon by Design will travel to Drexel University to experience how they integrate the desired tools into their sessions. In the spring of 2024, Drexel University will host a virtual design challenge, part of a second iteration of Drexel’s design ethics and climate course entitled “Playing with Purpose,” with students from Drexel, Elon, and JMU. In this culminating session, Drexel will run a pre-and post-test assessment to evaluate the effects of the tools discussed and create a compendium. Elon By Design will also share their findings.

CAA and INCO both view Elon by Design as an initiative worth investing in, promoting efforts to continue expanding its influence far beyond Elon’s campus through collaboration.

 

Elon by Design offers consulting and customized support for a range of personal, academic, and professional projects and teams. Request a consultation at our site: https://www.elon.edu/u/elon-by-design/workshops-and-events/