Design Strategy
Independent Study
Challenge Re-engage industry partners and brainstorm new ways they can collaborate with the MDI program.
Solution Built MDI Engagement Opportunity Matrix, playbook, 21 concepts, and prototyped one: the MDI Open House.
Impact Evolve the future of the program, chart the course for MDI leadership, and impact the future student experience.
Time 12 weeks (project), 6 weeks (prototype + test)
Team individual project
Tools Design Thinking, Illustrator, InDesign
Role project lead, user research, design, prototype, test
How might we engage and excite industry partners to get involved with the MDI program?
Project
I led an independent study with my program director focused on engaging and exciting industry and campus partners to collaborate with the MDI program to build community, create opportunities, and impact the future student experience.
Step 1 Wide look around
Researched analogous programs for competitive comparison data and interviewed 4 leads of UW campus organizations and 6 of my 15 peers in the program
Step 2 Define
Developed the MDI Engagement Opportunity Matrix (see below) that outlines the key elements to create a positive student experience through two dimensions: (1) key players and (2) student outcomes
Step 3 Ideate
Brainstormed 21 engagement opportunities to be tested and bring the matrix to life
Step 4 Synthesize
Analyzed concepts based off resources and impact, and built detailed briefs for the top 5
Step 5 Prioritize
Assessed viability, feasibility, and desirability of the top 5 and down selected to prototype and test the MDI Open House
Prototyping and testing the MDI Open House
What it was
The purpose of this science fair-like event was to bring the entire MDI community — students, faculty, industry partners, and campus colleagues — together and create an opportunity for invitees to network and learn about what MDI has to offer. We had two goals:
Create an opportunity for students to showcase their work and practice their project pitches, grow their network, and represent the program.
Create an opportunity for industry and campus partners to learn about what MDI has to offer through demonstrated learning outcomes.
Students of various disciplines and specializations showcased the work they completed throughout the program and practiced their project pitches for interviews.
Industry and campus partners learned about the program curriculum through demonstrations and where students’ post-grad goals through conversations.
The experience included a physical beacon of the program curriculum and the 2022 cohort, food and drinks, and remarks from program leads.
4:00 - 5:00pm Event and student set up
5:00 - 7:00pm MDI Open House
6:00pm Program remarks
Why it matters
Build community
The event gave industry and campus collaborators a chance to see and experience what the program has to offer through demonstrated learning outcomes.
“Now that I see students and their work, I understand the breadth and depth of the program, and ways my organization can partner with MDI.”
— Industry partner
Create opportunities
Providing students and collaborators with opportunities to grow their network resulted in 6 outcomes.
“Amy connected me with a past colleague in Austin, and he set me up with an interview at Prophet!”
— MDI student
Evolve the MDI experience
Researching other programs and getting key insights from students brings MDI leadership closer to the wants and needs of students, and materialized a vision for the future of the program.
“It was great to see all of the students hard work, get a deeper understanding of their interests, and watch demonstrations of what they’ve learned all in one place! What a great way to wrap the year and program.”
— Program director
What I learned
How to build a positive experience
Through research, having an experience-based understanding of the program, and getting my peers involved, I was able to create an event that served as a positive way to wrap our year. Building an experience involves the art of planning, meticulous execution, and people. The energy in the room was buzzing! And that was made possible by every one of the event participants.
How to create opportunities that bring people together
By analyzing three key users — students, industry partners, and campus collaborators — I was able to understand their needs and build an opportunity that brought everyone together. Students in my cohort had varying levels of professional networking experience. Practicing leadership coaching for this networking event helped build their confidence and prepare them for this opportunity.
How to design for impact
Once industry and campus collaborators were in the room, they had a better understanding of what the program is through demonstrated learning outcomes, and how they can get involved going forward. Presenting these collaborators with the opportunity to see how their organizations can collaborate with the program will evolve the MDI experience for future students.