BME377T:Development

BME377T course development scratch pad. Feel free to use this as a repository for ideas, notes, and resources.

Resources

Videos

• TED: Ideas worth spreading
  • Amy Smith gives an inspirational speech about simple designs to save millions.
    • More recent news about Smith's work with MIT D-Lab
  • Dan Gilbert discusses synthetic happiness
  • Sir Ken Robinson talks about how school is killing creativity
  • Allison Hunt tells of her story of broken health care systems in a humorous anecdote about her hip-replacement surgery
  • Photographer Gregory Colbert shares his breath-taking video from Ashes and Snow
  • Dean Kamen discusses new prosthetic arm
  • Hans Rosling debunks myths with amazing graphical statistics
    • Follow-up in 2007 about the Trendalyzer, Dollar Street
  • Jacqueline Novogratz reveals ways to make poverty history
• Children's ideas on how to change the world --Invisible Films

Websites

• Creative Partnerships
• PBS The New Heroes
• SE Competition
• By SE for SE
• Uncommon Heroes Video
• MIT Press
• Social Enterprise Reporter
• MIT D-Lab
  • MIT D-Lab 2
• World Changing: Changing Your Thinking

Books

• The Myths of Innovation, Scott Berkun (suggested by Natalie Kuldell)
• The Art of Innovation, Tom Kelley
• The Ten Faces of Innovation, Tom Kelley
• Thinker Toys, Michael Michalko

Course Description

Recruitment E-mail Draft

We are two BME students who envisioned a course very unlike our technical courses that would allow students to think outside of the box, increase opportunities for brainstorming with peers, and explore career options beyond graduate and medical school. With the help of Dr. Randi Voss, we have created Social Entrepreneurship and Engineering — a project-based course to help draw out and build up creativity, brainstorming, and team building skills towards social innovations.

During the semester, we will study a broad range of social concerns, examine success stories of individuals and groups who made a difference in their community, select an issue on which to concentrate, develop a creative strategy to raise awareness of that particular issue (i.e. film, advertisement, rally speech, etc.) and then attempt to “solve” this issue through whatever ways are relevant.

Although these goals may seem lofty, we believe that this is the best time to think big, to find others who are interested in similar goals, and to explore our potentials. Why wait until we graduate when we can start now?

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead

Key phrases

• students teaching students
• thinking outside the box
• developing creative process
• contributing to society
  • thinking about others besides ourselves
• bme more than just med school and grad school
  • other career options?

Recruitment

Within biomedical engineering

• Cindy
• Word of mouth

Outside biomedical engineering

• Ask Cindy!
• Flyers

Grading

• portfolio assessment/standard evaluation

Projects/Structure

1. Creativity-Inspiration-Lateral Thinking

  *improv
  *brainstorming activities
  *This I believe
  *video clips
  *reading
  *multimedia
  *collages
  *artwork

2. Social Issues

  *survey their interests
  *what makes people unhappy, etc.
  *what are the top five things you would like to change?
  *what disturbs you the most?
  *possible create groups based similar goals