Mechanical & Industrial Engrg 397C - ST-Inclusive Design/Healthcare

The goal of this course is to advance inclusivity in Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) through the prism of designing for people with disabilities and traditionally underserved communities. People with disability are an underserved group that is over 1 billion worldwide and disability touches every race, gender, class, etc. Furthermore, disparities are exacerbated when accounting for race and other factors like climate change, medical care, etc. We believe introducing students to I&E via a better understanding and appreciation for designing for unserved and underserved communities will provide a firm foundation for them to think about inclusion in all their activities going forward. We expect that students will learn that all people have limitations and that everyone benefits from adding inclusivity in innovation and entrepreneurship. If successful, the course will help build a cornerstone of empathy that is needed to advance inclusivity and cross-disciplinary I&E. Students will be exposed to key concepts in design and business. Including but not limited to concepts of universal design, human centered design, inclusive design, sprint design methodology, and how to build a business case for an idea or product.

Open to students in the Commonwealth Honors College, College of Engineering, College of Nursing, or Isenberg School of Management. This course satisfies an ME Tech Elective for ME majors and a Level 1 IE Tech Elective for IE majors.