BRINGING PURPOSEFUL INNOVATION TO THE CLASSROOM
Introduced in Fall 2017, the BUS 150: Business of Innovation course recentlyreceived an upgrade from Professor Kristen Migliano and other College of Business and Management faculty members, to provide students a more hands-on experience.
Migliano chose to introduce her students to the concept of design thinking, one of the many course revisions. Under this methodology, each student has the opportunity to contribute to ideas in the classroom, thus enhancing engagement.
“The design thinking worked because it was hands-on, experiential learning for students, which is what we want,” said Migliano. “We recognize that students learn more when they have the material to work with themselves.”
Not only have the adjustments enhanced the course for the College of Business and Management faculty, but the BUS 150 students have embraced the innovative approach.
“The experience in using purposefulinnovation has been amazing. I’velearned multiple things about how to make a product that has a reason, an objective,” said Joseph Dalton, junior.
By recognizing relevant communityissues, the students identi ed with thetopic of plastic reduction. After combining the concepts of business with their desireto bene t the community, the studentsorganized their own branded product – Aquaballs.
Aquaballs is an effort to improve the environment by eliminating plastic bottles and pollution. The theorized product would be biodegradable with a natural membrane which can be fully swallowed and digested. While the students are only in the beginning stages, their next steps involve creating a prototype and finding a manufacturer for their product.
“We really want to push for this product to launch,” said Evan Baright, junior. “We want to sit down with more people, evaluate our options and make sure we pick the right way to go with this. We are going to keep at it and hopefully see something amazing come of it.”
When Migliano and her team restructured the BUS 150 course, they could have only imagined the level of excitement expressed by students thus far over impacting their local community. With Aquaballs as their driving force, they seem to be heading in the right direction.
