Design, Engineering & Commerce (DEC) Core Curriculum

Introduces students to the use of creativity, empathy and collaboration as key elements for navigating ambiguity.

Course Description:

This course introduces principles of design thinking as a key element of innovation. Students will learn how parts of traditional design processes can be used to reveal opportunity, and how to shape that opportunity by critically and creatively evaluating its components as part of a larger system. As a culminating assignment, students will work collaboratively with peers from other disciplines to create real-world value in an economic, social and environmental context by innovating a new model for business that is both desirable and viable. This course is designated as creativity intensive.

Outcomes

1. Engage curiosity and empathy to find new opportunity.
2. Demonstrate use of design process tools in understanding and shaping opportunity.
3. Devise effective strategies for collaborative creation and iteration of low fidelity prototyping.
4. Practice adaptive project management with students from other disciplines.
5. Create real-world value in a social, environmental and economic context by innovating an ethical model for business that is both desirable and viable.

Uses a holistic problem-solving approach to explore the field of sustainability.

Course Description:

The field of sustainability will be surveyed using the lens of Systems Thinking. Students will be introduced to the rate and scale of environmental impacts resulting from climate change, our industrial food system and waste accumulation in linear models of production, with case studies considered from multiple perspectives and disciplines. Students will develop systems models to identify key feedback and interactions among factors. A final team-based inquiry driven project will involve analysis of a focal area of choice, to characterize sustainability challenges and opportunities for focused interventions, with consideration of social equity dimensions and model limitations.

Outcomes:

1. Analyze information to frame problems in terms of system boundaries and key elements and identify interconnections to environmental, societal and economic well-being.
2. Create conceptual and computational models to analyze feedback and emergent behavior including trends over time and generalize patterns.
3. Devise a workflow to advance group problem-solving and systems analysis.
4. Develop and evaluate sustainability solutions informed by system models, stakeholder impacts, model limitations and theory of change.

Introduces a range of research tools to analyze human belief, behavior, cultural practices and the systems which they drive and are affected by, to inform planning and critical inquiry.

Course Description:

This writing intensive course explores a range of research tools to analyze human belief, behavior and cultural practices and the systems which they drive and are affected by to inform planning and critical inquiry. Students will learn to formulate appropriate research strategies and questions for conducting quantitative and qualitative research to explore a variety of approaches that address contemporary issues around all aspects of sustainability (economic, social, environmental and technical). Students will consider ethical, empathetic and contextual sensitivities at all stages of the research process, from planning through to analysis and interpretation. They will convey their findings through multi-modal means of communication as appropriate to the content and purpose of their research.

Outcomes:

1. Collaboratively and equitably formulate questions and manage research strategies designed to drive innovation.
2. Utilize empathy, ethical and sustainable considerations in collecting and analyzing research from diverse perspectives.
3. Creatively interpret, curate and convey research results to others through multimodal means as appropriate to the goals, content and audience.
4. Construct a comprehensive research project using numerous research methods that embrace creative approaches to collecting and interpreting information.
5. Formulate and employ qualitative and quantitative research methods for analyzing human behavior in the context of economic, social, environmental and technological systems.

Offers a series of DEC Core driven resources and events to supplement students' capstones within their majors.

Description:

The capstone experience is comprised of a series of DEC Core driven resources and events to supplement a student’s capstone in their major. These resources and events can help DEC students: find potential collaborators; connect with “experts” from a variety of fields; find tools and resources to assist with their capstone; learn from experts and peers through guest presentations and social events.

The Capstone Experience aligns with the overall DEC program outcomes, and how they are applied within the students’ capstone projects.

1. Employ leadership and social intelligence through collaboration and adaptive management of projects and teams.
2. Analyze complexity through the integration of research data and information.
3. Adapt to emerging practices, successfully navigating unpredictable challenges.
4. Create ethical and sustainable innovations, that are rooted in empathy and respect diversity.
5. Interpret and convey information through multimodal means.