Part I: Creating the SEED Course

In May 2023, Charlie Michaels, Erin Moore, and Claudia Cameratti-Baeza created the brand-new SEED Course in response to the recognition that many students are hungry for learning that makes a positive impact. 

The SEED course aimed to support students in creating sustainable solutions by unpacking socially engaged design and emphasizing the experience and needs of real stakeholders. 

Establishing local partnerships 

Because collaboration is so central to the socially engaged design process, it was important to Moore, Michaels, and Cameratti-Baeza that their students gain valuable experience with genuine stakeholders.  Thus, they decided to focus on local issues. 

“It felt important to geo-fence the challenges we were giving them [the students] so that they had access to some of these issues,” explains Erin Moore. “Every student could be a stakeholder or could very easily talk to their friends, their coworkers, or their professors about their experiences.” 

Additionally, after understanding challenges at a local level first, students can then be able to apply those same tools in other non-local contexts given the opportunity. 

Part II: SEED’s first semester 

The Winter 2024 cohort of the SEED Course consisted of eleven students who came together to focus on two project topics that would guide that semester’s learning: Sensory Accessibility at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum and Sustainable Transportation on Campus.  

Once each student identified the topic they wished to address, they were then placed into a team with students from different backgrounds – from those studying engineering and UX Design to teammates focusing on business and environmental science. Because a variety of experiences were represented, students could bring their own thoughts and skills to the table while also relying on the expertise of their teammates.

Diving right in 

With the support of their fellow students and instructors, SEED students went step-by-step through the socially engaged design process model in order to ideate an equitable and sustainable solution for the stakeholders. 

Through a combination of group and individual projects, Michaels, Moore, and Cameratti-Baeza regularly encouraged their students to imagine every possibility for their project – and reflect on each step of the process.  

Bea Kaskie from the School of Literature, Science & the Arts, describes her experience with the SEED Course, saying, “The structure of the design process made thinking outside the box feel more purposeful.” 

Regular opportunities for feedback provided the opportunity for students to consider their learning as well as give the SEED instructors insight into how they could adjust their teaching to support their students.  

“The C-SED team are really helpful in pointing you in the right direction,” says Justin Mason from the School of Information. “ You can always rely on them.” 

The final presentation

At the end of the fourteen weeks, the teams gathered in the Center for Socially Engaged Design space during the College of Engineering’s Design Expo to detail their solutions and processes in a recorded final presentation. 

These presentations also created the opportunity for the stakeholders and students alike to celebrate the steps – big and small – that every participant took in creating their solution. 

“There were so many new things that I learned,” says Gagana Jadhav, a Masters student at the School of Information. “They just kind of unraveled and uncovered so many new dimensions that I hadn’t considered previously, and it really harmonized with what I want to learn and understand what I have seen in the past.” 

The SEED Fellowship

For many students, the projects didn’t end with the final presentation at the Design Expo. In fact, seven students from the Winter 2024 cohort continued their work into the spring/summer semesters through the funded SEED fellowship. 

“Sometimes, the limits of the semester are not necessarily in line with the timeline of a project,” explains Claudia Cameratti-Baeza. “So, it’s very exciting to have additional time and money to support the development of these solutions.” 

The 2024 SEED Summer Fellows engaged in creative and exciting work – growing their stakeholder interactions, asking and addressing new questions, and navigating the twists and turns of feedback and development. 

You can learn more about the Summer Fellowship teams in our SEED Fellowship series, which details each of the teams and the amazing work they have done. Here’s a brief sneak-peek into each team: 

• Wolverines on Wheels envisioned sustainable transportation on campus by expanding upon their semester’s work to establish a student organization dedicated to supporting biking on campus. 
• Team BotaniBot designed sensory accessibility by further developing their prototype for a navigation app designed for those who experience low vision and blindness. 
• Finally, two grad students Smriti Vamaraju and McKenna Owens joined the SEED Fellowship to create an Accessibility Self-Assessment tool for public spaces. 

A final reflection 

The passion that every student brought to this class was palpable – and left a lasting impact. The enthusiasm, creativity, and dedication of the first cohort of the SEED Course and the SEED Summer Fellowship will continue to have the support and admiration of their instructors. 

“After taking this course, I don’t feel like I’ve come across another project in which everyone involved was so excited and passionate to see where this project leads,” observed Jenny Do, from the College of Engineering. “The sheer enthusiasm is what surprised me the most.” 

Caption: The first SEED Course cohort on April 18, 2024