Abstract:

EUREKA! project is a bridge that connects critical thinking strategies addressed in the university design classroom to practical application in the community. Loosely modeled on projects such as the Rural Studio and Project M, The EUREKA! project is an annual 48-hour workshop for students to address a challenge faced by a community organization. The EUREKA! project was created to get students off campus and into the community, to learn about other audiences and experiences, to facilitate empathy and acceptance, and to encourage a life-long practice of giving back to society. After meeting with the community partner and stakeholders to identify audiences, barriers, and opportunities, student teams work collaboratively to document, analyze, and interpret findings to develop a holistic and pragmatic approach to the challenge. Teams present their proposals to the community partner for feedback and possible implementation the following semester.

The EUREKA! experience utilizes research and critical thinking skills to create concepts that employ multiple communication platforms. In this process, EUREKA! emphasizes and reinforces empathy, ethical responsibility, cultural awareness, and collaboration. This cumulative learning experience reinforces a wide variety of skills learned in the classroom while it expands students’ ability to adapt and push themselves out of their comfort zones. Throughout the EUREKA! event, students create resources with an intensity and sense of responsibility, focus, and purpose; planting the seed for them to incorporate initiatives for social good in their professional practices. The EUREKA! project welcomes and celebrates experiential learning, inclusivity, collaboration, new approaches, friendships, milestones, and life-long learning. The sense of community, altruism, and accomplishment at the conclusion of every EUREKA! event is transformative, palpable, and is a culmination of the design education experience. EUREKA!

Keywords:

Experiential learning, community building, design thinking, social change, diversity, equity, inclusion.