Global Challenges
General
- Undergraduate; Capstone
- 12 learners; teams of 12
- 50 hours per learner
- Dates set by experience
- Educators assign learners to projects
Preferred companies
- 1/1 project matches
- Anywhere
- Academic experience
- Incubator, Non profit, Social enterprise
- Non-profit, philanthropic & civil society
Categories
Project timeline
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August 28, 2024Experience start
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October 2, 2024Preliminary solution proposal
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November 13, 2024Final Solution Proposal
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December 6, 2024Experience end
Timeline
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August 28, 2024Experience start
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October 2, 2024Preliminary solution proposal
The team delivers a preliminary solution proposal and roadmap to project completion.
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November 13, 2024Final Solution Proposal
The team delivers a final solution proposal, prototype, and roadmap to project completion.
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December 6, 2024Experience end
Overview
- Details
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This class forms an interdisciplinary team of business students, science students, engineering students, and international studies students able to investigate a sizeable problem, conduct basic research, and design technology solutions in a culturally appropriate manner.
- Learner skills
- Project management, Product development
- Deliverables
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Our goal is to deliver a prototype of a technology solution and a business plan to carry it forward. Deliverables typically include a final written report, prototype design documents, a business plan, branding, and a starter website.
Project Examples
We prefer projects with an international flavor targeted at one of the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). Recent projects include:
- Develop a sensor for carbon sequestration verification.
- Develop hardware for public health surveys in Africa.
- Develop family-scale aquaponics systems for the dry corridor of Central America.
Team members are sometimes interested in entrepreneurship and may want to negotiate property rights for intellectual property developed in this project. We will consider projects which develop products for commercial clients, but we are especially interested in projects serving the needs of non-profits and in launching businesses to meet those needs.
Additional company criteria
Companies must answer the following questions to submit a match request to this experience:
Confirm that you can provide a dedicated contact who is available to answer emails for the duration of the project to address students' questions.
Confirm that you can participate in an online milestone review meeting at each major milestone.
Note that this is an academic class, and the project must follow the calendar outlined in the milestone schedule.