Engineering Students train in GID Lab for Senior Capstone Projects

For the third year in a row, students in the Mechanical Engineering Senior Capstone class filled the Global Innovation and Design (GID) Lab to train in the design thinking methodology. On October 30 and November 6, students worked through the entire design cycle, applying it to the creation of a robust team process first, before beginning work on the product assigned. Students were at the start of their year-long sponsored capstone projects for industry clients such as Boeing, ASHRAE, PACCAR, and Tacoma Public Utilities. Such training is provided as part of the GID Lab's partnership with the School of Engineering and Technology. 

The foundation of a successful project starts with establishing strong team dynamics and working towards a shared goal. In the first workshop, participants worked through various elements of the design thinking, from defining the challenges in their teamwork to ideating action items to improve their collaboration and setting their first path to success. By the end of the second workshop, the groups had developed their roles and responsibilities, as well as a structure for a plan for effective teamwork as they moved forward with their capstone project. 

The workshops were facilitated by Dr. Divya McMillin. Assisting from the GID Lab were Managing Director Alyce McNeil, Program Coordinator Maria Babko, Program Assistant Jack Cheung, and interns Jessica Sellers, Mahmadkaif Ghanchi, and Simrat Chhokar.