The Design Lab
The Design Lab provides the space, tools, and methodologies to co-create campus transformation by bringing together campus stakeholders to use a Human-Centered Design approach to ideate and identify solutions to social justice challenges in our community.
How does it work?
A nine-week experience collaborating with student teams exploring relevant social change topics on campus. Participants receive a $600 stipend. Students learn and research the topic, and through co-creation with lived-experience experts, they Identify innovation opportunities and ideate possible solutions. All teams share their long-term vision and share their ideas at the end of the semester showcase. The ideas proposed to receive funding to be piloted the semester after their Design Lab experience.
Why does the Design Lab work matter?
Any urgent challenges in the system at large also exist within our campus community. Most efforts to solve these issues often leave students out of the process. The results are mixed at best and often ineffective because key stakeholders are outside the process. The Design Lab creates a space and process to expand and deepen our call to live USD's mission and vision by connecting campus community members in meaningful and creative ways. Through Interdisciplinary collaboration, we generate empowering and innovative solutions.
Interested in Participating?
We're looking for 12-15 motivated students of any major to participate in the Spring Design Lab.
The topics for this semester will be
- Sustainable living- Energy use, water- behavior change, Single-use plastic reduction, etc
- Student Involvement in Social Change
Meetings will occur weekly for nine weeks on THURSDAYS starting February 25 from 12:30-2:00pm
- Applications are due midnight on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.
- Group Interviews: Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, Feb. 21.
Questions? Email designlab@sandiego.edu
You can preview the Interview Questions here
