Kindling Innovation in Rural Michigan

Duration: May 2016 - April 2017 

Role : Leading Design Thinking Workshops, Mentor for Makersapaces

Skills : Critical Making, Rapid Prototyping, Leadership and Public Speaking, 3D printing, Basic Arduino coding

Project Brief: Makerspaces in Michigan Libraries and Schools

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, grant RE-05-15-0021-15. From the grant application :

The University of Michigan School of Information will develop a multi-step approach to developing maker culture in Michigan libraries in underserved communities. This will include a statewide “road trip” to share knowledge of making, maker culture, infrastructure, tools, and community building with rural libraries and their communities, as well as closer partnering with two libraries for the purpose of engaging them in making on a more sustained level. The school will share its findings in an online maker handbook and in a free virtual conference at the project’s conclusion (both of which have now been completed).

This project has been documented in this blog series.

As someone with a background in technology and Design Thinking , as well as in visual and textile arts, I was awarded this wonderful opportunity to be part of this project. My involvement in this project as a Maker Mentor and a Graduate Student Research Assistant were two fold:

1. Creating and Leading Design Thinking workshops as well other maker sessions as part of the road trip of professional development workshops

2. Contributing to books as part of this project : Makerspaces Handbook (currently being published), Dash & Dot - a Children’s book (ISBN )

Follow this link to view all our photos from the road trip.

Design Thinking as a lens for Purposeful Making

Within the first couple of workshops we held, it became very clear that we need a framework for making. Most of our sessions introduced new techniques, ideas and technologies for establishing successful makerspaces, but there was nothing tying them together for the makers of the community. I suggested, based on my experience, a quick 15 - 30 minute introduction to Design thinking. It was so well received in our first few workshops that I, with the support of Prof. Kristin Fontichiaro, extended it to offer half and full day Design Thinking workshops offered to over 200 educators and librarians across Michigan. I also mentored the participants through the process of adapting the Design Thinking framework to their needs.

The workshops were interactive and often adapted to the audience. They followed the following , general, structure :

Icebreaker Game

We developed a warm up game that helped jump start the sessions and get the participants to move out of their comfort zones. It was a fun way to step the participants through the Design Thinking process without having to overtly verbalize everything. The game also made it easy for them to grasp ideas in a short time frame, as I laid them out later in the session.

Here are a few creations from the participants:

Introduction to Design Thinking

The history and how it has been used in so many industry. Then an overview of the process. This is where the icebreaker comes in handy.. depending on how much time we’ve spent on the game, our participants would have already caught a glimpse of what it’s like to do understand the problem, ideate and iterate on solutions.

Picking a Challenge and applying Design Thinking

The group of attendees usually got together in teams and picked their own challenges. One session in particular, where the participants picked community problems to solve, like the lack of waste disposal at the local dog park, low community awareness and participation in recycling etc. stands out to me.

They would go out into the town to conduct observations & research and return to the venue for ideation and prototyping.

We closed our sessions with product pitches or gallery walks , where the participants gave each other feedback and ideas.

Here are a few of my favorite moments from the workshops:

What I gained from this unique experience

A chance to work on a life-long passion

This internship and research assistantship aligned with my long term goals of bringing in innovative design and disrupting the current education system. I got to meet educators and students from different backgrounds and of different ages. Seeing the challenges they face and experiencing first-hand, the need for the system to adapt to a constantly changing world have strengthened my conviction to contribute to this field. I see Design Thinking as a groundbreaking opportunity, having tested it out in the field.

The Ability to lead Workshops

With the encouragement of my mentor, Prof. Kristin Fontichiaro, I was able to take a brief, fifteen minute introduction to Design Thinking and create a full day workshop. By the first couple of workshops, I was able to command and sustain the interest of a room full of people , engage them in critical thinking and help them quickly focus on problem solving. The freedom and autonomy offered by my mentor allowed me to tweak and adapt the workshop to the needs of the attendees and come up with a range of activities.

Meeting people in a context beyond "users"

Before this internship began, I had met a lot of users within the context of user research. This experience helped break the lens of user interviews and connect with people on a deeper level. It also reinforced the importance of coming together with people of different backgrounds, with different political and world views to solve a problem. My time spent with the participants and their families and my experiences in a new culture have significantly helped me in becoming a better user researcher in a global context. And this is my biggest takeaway from the whole experience.