Design Lab Initiative Tasks Students with Creating Actionable Change to Campus Issues
Students brainstorm ideas during an ideation session on April 13, 2023. Twenty-one USD students participated in the Design Lab’s Climate Alliance & USD Community Edition. The initiative was created collaboratively this semester by the Changemaker Hub, USD Student Affairs and the Environmental Integration Lab. (Photo by Matthew Piechalak)
Twenty-one USD students, divided into six small teams and equipped with an abundance of sticky notes, gather inside a classroom on a common mission: to generate out-of-the-box ideas they hope to craft into viable solutions to urgent challenges affecting the campus community.
It’s the fourth session of the Design Lab’s Climate Alliance & USD Community Edition, an initiative created collaboratively this semester by the Changemaker Hub, USD Student Affairs and the Environmental Integration Lab. Today’s session is all about ideation — the third phase of the Design Thinking process — and all ideas, no matter how wild or unrealistic, are welcomed additions to the block paper hung on the walls next to each group of motivated students.
“Ideation requires that we have a specific mindset and approach,” Juan Carlos Rivas, PhD, director of social change and student engagement for the Changemaker Hub, tells the students as they prepare to work.
Design Thinking is a non-linear process that involves five stages — empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. The student-fellows spent the first three sessions of the semester exploring their designated topics through research and campus interviews. The focus has now turned to a series of brainstorming activities intended to generate ideas that, through collaboration and reinforcement, may turn into a concrete approach to solutions for each team.
The Design Lab set out at the beginning of the semester to explore six topics: food security, campus transportation, fostering community, student loneliness, single-use product reduction and reducing fast fashion among the student community.
“We had over 50 students apply and we accepted 21 to participate, ” says Rivas. “The topics that we are focused on are all campus related and the lab provides a space for students to learn and get engaged in real life problems, but also in honing their skills in their campus community.”
Each student received a $1,000 stipend for their participation.
The initiative was funded using $6,000 in grant money from the Changemaker Hub’s Design Lab, a strategic initiative tied to the university’s Envisioning 2024 plan. An additional $15,000 was generously made available by Vice President of Student Affairs Charlotte Johnson, JD.
Supporting the Design Lab’s initiative was an easy decision, says Johnson. The work provides students opportunities to creatively problem solve, put their thoughts into action and make a positive contribution to the USD community.
“I have always been a firm believer in the power of experiential learning and what it lends to the transformation we hope all students experience as a result of their USD education,” says Johnson.
Each team was composed carefully by combining students from across schools, learning disciplines and ages. Every group had at least one senior.
“It’s diverse and really thought out,” says Rivas. “We want to train future leaders and we have students working in marketing, business, architecture, environmental science, a couple of engineers, sociology. We are very much talking about cross-disciplinary work.”
Senior business student Nicholas Faber was on a team exploring food insecurity on campus. The group had observed that there is a large community of USD students that find options on campus out-of-reach.
“I have personally struggled with food insecurity during my time at USD so I’m aware of the harm it can cause to a student’s grades, relationships and general quality of life,” says Faber. “Through the alliance, we’ve had the opportunity to explore this issue through interviews with students to get a sense as to what students face daily to better pinpoint where the issue stems from and to find equitable solutions to said issues. We have also engaged with faculty to make sure that any solution meets USD’s standards and are hoping that we can employ the eventual solution before the semester ends.”
Marketing and communications major Mahlia Flores spent the semester exploring conscious consumerism and waste prevention. The convenience and affordability of fast fashion often has severe negative global, environmental and social implications, says Flores, an undergraduate assistant for the Office of Sustainability.
“Our concentration is directed on raising student awareness of the succeeding negative consequences of their impact without jeopardizing self-expression,” she says.
Fellow marketing and communications major Mariana Combariza was on a team that explored student loneliness. Their focus was to find ways to create a sense of belonging for first-years and transfer students.
“I decided to participate in the climate alliance because I have a passion for creating strategies to make sure that every student not just knows they belong in the community, but feel that sense of belonging,” says Combariza, who is also president and founder of the Food for the Soul Theology Club. “Design Lab was the perfect opportunity for me to sharpen my skills and learn how to best engage and strategize with others to make my vision for USD a reality, all while interacting with other student leaders who share a similar pursuit.”
The students presented their research and final solutions during a showcase in the Knauss School of Business Nexus Theater on May 4. Before their peers — and a few professors and administrators — the six groups passionately presented their research and potential solutions, which included ideas like student outreach and education, new community events, updated services, and strategic programs and signage geared to vulnerable communities.
The Design Lab, originally named the Design Thinking Studio, was a strategic initiative proposed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The lab really came from what we identified as a gap in the ecosystem of innovation on campus,” says Rivas. “Using Design Thinking is one of the many tools you can use to address urgent challenges and it’s something the Changemaker Hub has been doing for a long time.
The Design Thinking process is a vital component for any Changemaker to utilize when addressing systemic problems, believes Flores, when asked to reflect on the alliance’s approach that she and her peers have used throughout the semester.
“It’s imperative because it stresses ingenious creativity to identify solutions,” she says. “It requires flexibility, humility, collaboration and critical thinking to generate sustainable quality innovations. This method prompts innovators to reject conventional assumptions and elevate their expansive thinking. My team redefined our mission each session to ensure we have responded to consumer needs based on their pain points.”
Design Thinking begins and ends with people, adds Combariza
“The point of Design Thinking is to be conscious of whom we are aiming to help throughout the entire process of creating solutions,” she says. “The lab is not about finding the most practical or economic approaches, but rather, finding innovative ideas that are specifically tailored to the experiences of the group we want to help, and to ensure that they are the one who will benefit the most from them.”
The alliance was an extremely fulfilling experience, Faber says.
“I’ve learned a lot about grassroots activism and the need for local solutions when working with social issues,” he says. “I’ve also had the opportunity to learn from my peers and from their unique perspectives which has been an incredible journey.”
— Story and photos by Matthew Piechalak
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