Course Description
This course aims to cultivate skills needed to be a more effective engineer by incorporating design thinking practices to work on locally contextualized wicked problems. Students are given the chance to study and apply various design techniques, and understand and address the various problems that show up in the design process. Divided into three phases – inspiration, ideation and development – the course exposes students to the theme of the problem, allows them to brainstorm possible solutions and finally, develop what they think is the most feasible solution. Over the years, themes have included Global Surgery, Child Health, Emergency Care, Education, and Electrical Power in Pakistan, as well as a collaboration with doctors at the Aga Khan University Hospital. Past projects have included helpline systems, wearable digital belts to monitor child health, a mobile app to assist with vaccinations, software to record patient data via RFID tags and a medical band that can measure and transmit patient’s vitals to the relevant hospital so that they can be prepared for incoming patients.
Centre For Transdisciplinarity, Design & Innovation
