COMMUNITYPARTNER INFORMATION GUIDE
ABOUTTHEDESIGNSTUDIO
TheDesignStudioat theUniversityof Nebraska at Omahaconnectsthehigh-achieving STEM studentsfromtheScott ScholarsProgramwithorganizationsintheOmaha metropolitanareato developinnovativesolutionstocommunitychallenges.DesignStudioprogramsstrivetocreate productsthat havevaluefor communitypartnersbywayof processesthat arevaluableto students
TheScott Scholarsprogramisinterestedinpartneringwithorganizationswho:
- havean organizational culturethat iscommitted to exploring disruptive, innovative,and groundbreaking design solutions
- havea mission of creating a differencein theOmaha metropolitan area
- haveaccessto senior level managersand executivesfor student teams
- want theopportunityto mentor and workside-by-sidewith high-achieving team of Scott Scholars
- arewilling to exploreinnovativeand unprecedented and design solutions
- valuenewperspectivesand expertise
- areflexibleto remoteworking environment
- seektoadd valueto their organization
Selectedorganizationswill:
- Receivecreativethinking and a testablesolution that will makea differenceon a challengeor opportunitytheyarecurrently facing
- Haveaccessto high-achieving STEM-focused undergraduatestudents
- Receivea deliverableof an app or technological solution,physical solutions,documentation, research paper,or presentation
- Build awarenessabout theorganization and itsmission with student audiences
DESIGNTHINKING
Designthinkingisahuman-centerediterativeproblem-solving approachrootedinempathyand innovation.All Scott Scholarslearnthedesignthinking processtobetter understand theneedsof othersandcreatesolutionswiththe highest value
Design Thinking Phases
Thereare5 phasesindesignthinkingwhichare non-linear andutilized throughout the innovationprocess Studentsconduct multiple iterationsover thesephasestocreatethemost valuablesolutionsfor their partners.
"Working with Arbor Bank hasbeen a uniqueexperience, particularly in theperspective of adapting our technical knowledgeto problem setsthat don't apply at first glance. Thinking about how a bank connectswith itscommunity and learning about how thesenior management seestheworld and our community isfar beyond my usual zoneof working in cybersecurity."
WAYSTOGETINVOLVED
Therearemultiplewaysfor your organizationtobeinvolved withtheScott ScholarsProgrambasedon theamount of timethat
3.5 YEARCAPPARTNER
Year 1: Design thinking in the Classroom
Beginning their first year,Scott Scholarslearndesignthinking curriculumthrough a Leadership Development courseand aSoftwareDevelopment course The studentsaresplit intogroupsof 8-10 andareintroduced totheir community actionproject partnerstheir first year tohavea real-world problemtoput their recentlyacquired designthinking skillsintopractice.
Year 2-4: Design thinking in the Community
TheScott Scholarscontinuethroughtherest of their timeintheScott Scholars programwiththesamegroupandpartnerstobuild their professional relationshipsandgainfamiliaritywiththeir individual organizations Each academicyear,theScott Scholarsworkwiththeir partnerstodeterminea challenge,learnmoreabout thepeopleimpacted bythat challengeand developa list of potential solutions Thesesolutionsarethenevaluated and theteamelects onesolutiontoprototype,helpdeploywiththepartners,and evaluatetheimpact of theprototype
SUMMERINTERNSHIPPARTNER
During thesummer session,Scott ScholarsfromprogramsacrosstheUnited States(ColoradoStateUniversity,CreightonUniversity,HastingsCollege, Universityof Nebraska at Omaha,Universityof NotreDame)havethe opportunitytoparticipateintheScott ScholarsDesignStudioInternship.Groups of 5-8 studentswork25 hoursa weektodesignasolutiontoa problemstatement that their partner organizationproposes
INDEPENDENTINTERNSHIPS
TheScott ScholarsProgramprovidesinternshipsfor studentsduring the academicsemester wheretheyworktogether ona smaller semester-long project inpartnership withtheir organizationpartner Student internstypicallyspend 10-15 hoursa weekworkingontheproject
ORGANIZATIONPARTNEROBLIGATIONS
Therearecertainrequirementsthat our organizationpartnersareexpected tomeet inpartnership withtheScott ScholarsProgram.
1 ProvideProblem Statements: Partnersareexpectedtomeet withtheir Scott Scholarsgroup at the beginningof anyproject withaproblemtopresent tothestudents.Thisdiffersfroma project idea inthat thesolutionshould beundefinedat thestart of thepartnership Studentswill usedesignthinkingtobeable tofindthebest solutionfor theproblemthat ispresented.Examplesof a good problemstatement:
a "Our organizationislooking toincreasetheSTEM pipelinefor studentsat anearlier ageby providingmeaningful opportunitiesfor studentstofind a senseof belongingwithinSTEM disciplines"
b. "Weprovidealmost 1,100 bagsof foodfor studentstotakehomeontheweekends.Wearelooking for moreefficient waystorunthefoodprogramwhilealsomakingit moresustainablefor the environment "
c. "Our pilotsareusingpaper checkliststhat includeall of thesafetyrequirementstheyneedasthey flyover theocean Weneed abetter resourcefor thesepilotstousethat isuser friendlyand ultimatelysafer for themandtheir crew."
2 Meet Regularly: Partnersshould beflexibleenoughtofind timeintheir schedulestomeet withtheScott Scholarsgroup regularly.Thisistimefor thestudentstogiveupdatesontheir projectsand receiveuser feedbackfromtheorganizationpartnerstoimprovetheir solutions Thefrequencyof meetingdependson theprogram:
a 3 5 Year CAPPartner: Every2-3 weeks
b Design Studio Internship Program: Weeklythroughout the10-weekprogram
3. Designatea Project Lead: Eachorganizationshouldassignat least oneindividual toserveasthe primarypoint of contact betweentheir teamand thestudent group Thispersonwill beresponsiblefor attendingmeetingsregularlyandensuring timelycommunicationvia email.
4 Coordinateempathy interviews: At thestart of a project,studentswill conduct empathyinterviewsto gaininsightsintotheproblemfromtheperspectiveof thosedirectlyexperiencingthepainpoints. Partneringorganizationsarerequired toprovideat least fivecontactsfor studentstoreachout to, facilitatingshort interviewstounderstandtheir experiences.
5. BeReceptiveto New Ideas: Themost successful partnershipsarethosewherebothpartiesareopento exploringnewideasandstrategiesproposedbystudents
