IDEA Team Selected as 2022 Steelcase Social Innovation Fellows
By: Veronica Armour
A team from Rutgers’ Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy was selected among a distinguished cohort of creative thinkers and problem-solvers to tackle issues of equity and wellbeing in education.
Kal Pandit, Sunny Gunda, Malay Patel, Rut Mehta and Veronica Armour of Rutgers University have been selected for the 2022 cohort of Steelcase Social Innovation Fellows. As a part of the cohort, the Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) team will be joining a class of creative thinkers and innovative problem solvers to address issues of equity and wellbeing in education.
In October of last year, participants from around the globe attended the Equity in Education Challenge, a series of open innovation workshops. From their ideas, a panel of industry experts selected 10 organizations to advance their concept during the Fellowship Program.
“Welcoming our new cohort of Social Innovation Fellows is a privilege and a pleasure,” said Adam Weiler, Social Innovation Manager at Steelcase. “We are thrilled to support this exciting group of educators and changemakers who bring a blend of powerful ideas and problem-solving talent to some of the most important equity issues in education of our time.”
The Equity in Education Challenge starts with a central question rooted in one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This year’s challenge addresses barriers to quality education asking, “How might we reimagine student support systems during the pivotal transition to higher education or a career path?”
Participants submitted their projects to a panel of subject matter experts and finalists were chosen to continue developing their prototype in the Steelcase Social Innovation Fellowship Program.
“The ColLab project that the IDEA team submitted focuses on the challenges first-year students face as they transition from high school to college and how they can easily get overwhelmed with the wealth of resources Rutgers offers them,” said Kal Pandit, a freshman at the School of Arts and Sciences SAS and the project lead.
His colleagues are Malay Patel, a freshman at SAS who is majoring in computer science; Rut Mehta, a freshman at the Rutgers Business School; and Srujanesh Gunda, an Honors College junior majoring in biochemistry and economics.
IDEA Associate Director and an advisor to the team, Veronica Armour, said the goal of IDEA is to provide space for students to explore the innovation process by thinking about what problems they would like to solve. During the program, students take part in co-curricular design sprints, one-credit research seminars and industry-mentored summer projects.
“IDEA provides hands-on and experiential learning opportunities that empower students to explore their interests and be better positioned to make decisions with their coursework, engage with faculty, and ultimately, pursue a career path,” Armour said. “ColLab’s project is a good example of how IDEA students can take advantage of what we have to offer and explore an idea.”
During the four-month program, Fellows will receive tools, training, and support to accelerate the development of their prototype while gaining access to virtual workshops, guest lectures, and support to address challenges that arise in early-stage development.
To meet the Steelcase Social Innovation Fellows, visit https://www.steelcase.com/social-innovation-fellowship
