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I&E 590: Open Design + Innovation

Instructor(s): Aria Chernik

Open design is a variation of design thinking and human-centered design that applies an ethical framework to the process of understanding complex problems and developing innovative solutions. Open design is influenced by the guiding principles of open source software and development communities as well as the ethical inquiries concerning empathy and an individual’s responsibilities in relation to self and others.

Students will gain familiarity with the ethics of open, as well as extensive practice engaging in the open design process, which includes empathizing with stakeholders, ideating prototypes, analyzing qualitative data and iterating forward, communicating across media, and thinking boldly and creatively in the face of uncertainty. This is an active learning course that requires both self-initiated learning and goal-setting as well as intensive collaboration and contribution to project deliverables

Heart graphic for course

I&E 290: Designing Ethical Tech

Instructor(s): Aria Chernik

No technology is value-neutral. Our tools both embody and express the preferences and privileges of those who design them. Anyone designing technological systems should be sensitive to the ways their inventions can reinforce particular relations of power and visions of (in)justice. This interdisciplinary course aims to help students develop those sensitivities.

With particular attention to high-profile digital innovations like machine learning and algorithmic automation, students will investigate ways computational machines can promulgate and circumvent various forms of authority and control. Students will work to understand how principles derived from various “open” movements—for example, open source software and hardware, open access, and open education—might help us analyze (and design for) new and different social arrangements.

Additionally, students will learn the theory and praxis of open design, a variation of design thinking and human-centered design. Collaborating with one another, with instructors, and with industry experts, students will research opportunities for building tools that address social issues, identify an opportunity to contribute innovations in these areas, complete design sprints to refine their ideas, and collaborate extensively to produce open-access educational resources.

 Mural Durham transforms eight decommissioned satellites on the grounds of the Duke Arts Annex to create a one-of-a-kind community park in Durham's Burch Avenue neighborhood on Saturday, April 14, 2018. I&E 290 Innovation, Product & Design

 

 

Instructor(s): Edward Timke + Kevin D Hoch + Megan Kelly Deyncourt + Steven McClelland

Students learn skills relevant to Innovation, Design Thinking, Product Management and Entrepreneurial Action.

Through this exploratory course, students foster a learning mindset by expanding their self-awareness and enhancing their teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. As the course unfolds, students learn about their biases, strengths, and values; find ways to communicate with and trust others on a team¿working toward a common mission; observe and anticipate the needs of others; and develop ways to influence others through creative storytelling and systematic problem-solving. Students also grapple with ethical questions and challenging problems that cannot be solved without establishing a realistic cultural empathy. Class sessions involve interactive exercises that apply theory to practice, self- and group assessments, dynamic guest speakers, and applied creative projects.

 

I&E 393/791: Open Design at Duke and Beyond

Open Design logo

Instructor(s): Aria Chernik + Kevin Hoch

When we hear the word “design,” we often think about a product: the features of a technology, the look of a space, the integrity of a structure. But design also refers to a process that can be used by teams to solve deeply complex, real-world problems. And because the design process (sometimes called design thinking or a variation referred to as human-centered design) asks us to learn and demonstrate essential 21st-century skills – like collaborating with stakeholders, communicating across media, analyzing data and iterating forward, thinking boldly and creatively in the face of uncertainty – more people are starting to think about how a design mindset can be integrated into educational contexts.

This Bass Connections linked project offers students a rare opportunity to help ideate and build design experiences at Duke. Students will gain content knowledge about design thinking and human-centered design, plan and execute a one-day design learning summit, build educational resources for use at Duke and beyond and help design Duke’s new Design+ Durham program. Given Duke’s commitment to interdisciplinary thinking and inclusive action, the team will build a design framework that is dedicated to an open ethos, to a design process that values and promotes access to information, inclusion, diversity, transparency and meritocracy and to collaboration and community. We call this brand of design “open design.”

Students on track to career and graduation

I&E 290-1: Design your Duke Journey (+Career!)

Design Your Duke Journey (+Career!) is an interactive course that applies a design-thinking framework and mindset to career exploration and development. Students will learn to get curious, try stuff out and talk to people through experiential activities in and out of the classroom, self-reflection, readings and discussion. The intended goal is that students will learn how design thinking can help them explore options and opportunities, and at the same time, wrestle with the “wicked” problem of: How do I know if I’m on the right track, if I don’t know exactly what the destination is? This class is best suited for First-year or Sophomore undergraduate students