This course is not currently offered, please contact the school or faculty of your program.

Course description

This course requires students from multiple scientific backgrounds to work in teams on 'grand challenges'. Grand challenges are here defined as economic, social and political issues of domestic and/or global expanse that are of such significant concern to communities as to be a priority for resolution. Such grand challenges will be identified by teaching staff as well as the student teams based on scientific and political priority and can include issues such as food security, sustainable energy, and sustainable global economic development. Grand challenges thus become a way for students to link theory, practice and impact as a method of learning. The course requires students to follow the lean start-up process including deep problem investigation and successive rounds of rapid prototyping. The course aims to build student experience beyond their disciplinary boundaries to develop the skills for working in multidisciplinary teams and arrive at robust solutions that respect complexity. Students should strive for outcomes that represent actionable community progress on the selected grand challenges.