2020 uiguides, 2021 Cohort, 2022 uiguides, 2023 uiguides
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=Project Name: SELF-DESIGNING YOUR STUDENT JOURNEY EXPERIENCE (pilot projectproposal)=
===Why is this project important to you, your department, & your Fellows? ===
Giving students a sense of ownership and responsibility in designing their own student life experience between curriculum and real life outside the campus is a crucial process for self-reflection and growth. Moreover, creating the space for like-minded (proactive, empathetic, self-growth oriented) students to interact on common problems and innovate solutions for themselves not only empowers them but also acts as a source of inspiration and motivation for their peers.
The primary focus is on facilitating an anxiety-free community-supported transition to student life on campus for freshman students (2020 and 2021 cohorts) who have not yet experienced campus life. The intention is to use this opportunity to lay the foundation for a creativity and innovation -minded community. The fellows will be crucial pillars of this community as they will facilitate and introduce their experience and skills of design thinking and problem solving to others. I strongly believe that the faculty and staff will also be stimulated from the interaction with such a community of highly motivated solution-oriented students, in and out of the classroom.
===Description ===
The expected outcome is for students to develop an awareness of their own role in designing and creating their experience. In practical terms, the goal of the project is to create an (emotional, informational and physical) support system of like-minded students as well to provide the space and the skills for students to think about and design their own experience.
The first leg of this two-year journey is the “Team -building workshop" scheduled for December 2020. Ideally, we would be able to carry out a real workshop on campus with a limited number of 20 participants where we would run a “Spaghetti Tower” kind of challenge. Should the lockdown persist, we will run an online interactive workshop instead. The aim is to gather together and create the community core of like-minded individuals (students, faculty and staff). The experience from this workshop will be used in April around the orientation period to welcome the new freshman cohort.
The next step involves growing the community by reaching out to junior and senior students to join us, in particular by creating a “Buddy support network”. While emphasis is on real interaction between students, during the pandemic as well as after, a digital platform would enhance the extent of the support available as it removes the limitation of one-on-one type interaction, and instead allows for flexible round-the-clock matching of freshman students’ support needs with the info, resources, skills and time availability of buddies. We will explore existing platforms and the necessity/possibility of developing an App for this purpose. In April 2021 as the new batch of freshman students joins, we will introduce the Buddy system platform for test and use.
In September 2021 we will organize a Boot Camp - where we will have interactive presentations of past year achievements and panel discussion on using design thinking in student life. The aim is for the students involved in these activities to reflect on their own journey and goals achieved, but also to “showcase” their activities so as to stimulate and inspire a wider audience.
In March 2022 we will organize a “Half -a -Graduation Ceremony” Event for 2020 freshman cohort, to reflect on their journey so far (last 2 years) as well as to set personal goals and devise a strategy for the following two years. At the end of the event students will be asked to write a self-addressed letter to "graduating self” where they state the resolution they have set for themselves and the goals towards which they will direct themselves in the remaining two years.
===Stakeholders served ===
===Key Milestones===
* December 2020: Team -building workshop (“Spaghetti tower” mindset in virtual version) * March 2021: Buddy Support Network platform (registering freshman students and senior students interested in linking with and supporting freshman students)
* June 2021: Two “Fix-it! Idea Shop” workshops on identifying and solving campus-life issues (through design thinking mindset and tools) —> students set up 1-2 “Fix-it Idea Projects”
* September 2021: Boot Camp - interactive presentations of past year achievements and panel discussion on using design thinking in student life
* December 2021: Report progress on “Fix-it Idea Projects” (of June 2021)
* March 2022: "Half -A Graduation” -Graduation Ceremony " Event - reflecting on personal journey and setting up goals for the next two years (write a letter to “my graduating future self”)
===An Innovation Portfolio===
# “Fix-it Idea Shop” workshop facilitation guides and documentation;
# Boot Camp schedule and activities documentation;
# “Half -a -Graduation Ceremony” facilitation guide and “Letter to graduating future self” template
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