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Bring Your Course to Design Innovation

New in Fall 2024!

Are you interested in enhancing your course with human-centered design, design thinking, and hands-on making/prototyping? Then consider bringing your course to DI! As a DI section, your course will receive dedicated support designed to enrich your students’ learning experience and foster collaboration, creativity, and innovation.

Get Started

Register your course as a “DI section” and:

  • DI will work with you to schedule your section in one of the available course instruction environments in the DI HUB.

  • Your course section will receive support from our DI STAFF and DI CREW student employees to help your students learn how to use the tools and resources in the DI Hub’s makerspaces in order to:

    • “Prototype to See” their project’s problem/challenge together more effectively. 

    • “Prototype to Ideate” and explore multiple possible solutions. 

    • “Prototype to Solve and Test.” 

  • DI can visit your course to offer immersive learning activities in:

    • Orienting your students to the DI Hub’s spaces, equipment, and resources. 

    • Finding your superpowers (to better work in teams).

    • Employing empathy both in and beyond your team.

    • Developing powerful strategies to gain deeper insight into messy problems, brainstorming possible solutions, prototyping, testing, iterating and evaluating solutions. 

  • You can choose to showcase your students’ projects in the Design Innovation Hub for nearly 3,000 students and visitors who flow through the building on a daily basis! (if appropriate for your course)

    • We especially like to showcase applications of new tools/technologies, examples of collaboration and/or demonstrations of process in our DI Gallery and other showcase areas.

    • You can also choose to participate in our annual “DI Day” at the end of the spring semester which showcases the outcomes of DI-related collaborations, projects, and programs. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I register to be considered for a DI course section?

To inquire about having your course become a DI section contact J.R. Campbell at jrcamp@kent.edu

What is required for my course to become a “DI Section?”

There are only two key requirements to have your course become a DI Section, ANY course from any discipline can apply:

  1. If your course or course section has at least one team-based project (ideally tackling a complex problem and/or working across disciplinary boundaries) AND

  2. You are willing to have your course section be scheduled to meet in the DI HUB. 

If you meet these criteria, then your course section is eligible!! 

Do I need to have design or making activities as part of my course section in the DI HUB?

No, but we encourage you to think about the possibilities for how ‘making’ can be a powerful way to help people see/communicate complex problems, as well as to visualize and test possible solutions!

What is the timeline for applying?

We will consider applications on a rolling basis and try to accommodate what we can.  We will operate on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, so start planning early!  Ideally, the application should be submitted prior to the academic term (semester or summer) BEFORE the term you would like to be scheduled in the DI HUB.

Do I need to do anything in my school/department?

Yes!  We STRONGLY recommend you consult with your appropriate academic unit head (department chair, school director, dean, etc.) to ensure that your goal for a “DI Section” of your course is in line with the unit’s goals and values.  This will also help your academic unit head and schedulers better plan for scheduling your section. 

photo of students and instructor in class
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