Driving Question: How might we explore innovation through robotics?
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
Our goals were to create a contactless delivery robot and pitch it to a panel of experts. With the help of the robotics team from the workshops, we learned all the basic concepts to create our own innovation.
What new things did you learn about yourself?
It was really interesting to realize that we were capable of coding, and we loved using our hands to create a robot.
Driving Question: How might we explore innovation through robotics?
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
Our goal for this module was to create a working robot completed with a prototype and functioning code. We spent lots of time brainstorming and sketching ideas for this robot. We also wanted to make sure our robot was super unique and one of a kind.
Our final prototype was a success and could perform the actions that it was intended to do. Our robot is also innovative because it is different than anything you will see on the current market.
What new things did you learn about yourself?
I learned that I should be more open to failures and feedback since those things could only help. My thoughts before were “get everything right” or “no mistakes,” now, I am open to failure and will welcome it with open arms.
What are your big takeaway lessons from this project?
The biggest lesson for me is that everything is a process, and nothing amazing can come from nothing.
Driving Question: How might we use blockchain technology to create future innovative ventures?
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
At the beginning of this module, I wasn’t quite sure what blockchain was and all I wanted to do was figure it out. By the end of the module, I was able to go beyond just understanding basic blockchain I was able to merge it with something that I enjoyed in my summative product.
What new things did you learn about yourself?
I learned to embody the TGS core value of grit, as I was online because of COVID this term. It really taught me to be patient with myself and to let my curiosity fuel me and challenge me to learn something new. This term was full of a lot of personal growth and I can proudly say I’m not the same as I was in the beginning of the term.
What are your big takeaway lessons from this project?
I think that my biggest lesson is to trust myself. At the beginning of this project, I was scared that I wouldn’t understand anything because I didn’t have a background in tech and coding. I thought I would really struggle, and before I even started the module, I was stressed about it. But I convinced myself to open my mind and be positive and to link it with something I understood.
Driving Question: How might we use blockchain technology to create future innovative ventures?
What were your goals for this module?
Helena: My biggest goal for the module was having good teamwork with my peers, learning about blockchain, and applying it to something I am really passionate about. Having an impactful final summative that showcases an issue is so important for our community, and I’m proud to see that we achieved all of them together.
Methini: For our module summative, my teammates and I designed a project called Kolmnaist, which means three women. The theme of our project was using blockchain technology to create an NFT collection that empowers women from India, Estonia, and Brazil.
My goal for this module was to understand what blockchain is and how it works because blockchain was a whole new topic for me. When we started learning about blockchain, all I could think about was its negative aspects, like affecting the environment and people. But later on, we explored how we can use blockchain for a positive impact.
Studying the fourth industrial revolution is genuinely a shock on how innovative the world is becoming.
What new things did you learn about yourselves?
Helena: I learned that I am actually very interested in exploring this technology that, at first, I didn’t think I was ever going to connect to.
Methini: I learned to develop my pitching skills and also realized that I’m not too fond of blockchain and its future roles in our day-to-day life.
What are your biggest takeaway lessons from this project?
Helena: I think I learned a lot about adversity and dealing with things going out of plan, but still being able to adapt and make the most out of it.
Methini: My biggest takeaway from this module is to be confident while pitching/presenting, have clear eye contact with the audience, and understand ways to use blockchain positively.
Driving Question: How might we use blockchain technology to create future innovative ventures?
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
My goal for this module was to develop a solid and applicable understanding of blockchain. Coming in, I knew absolutely nothing about NFTs, cryptocurrency, decentralized finance, or web 3.0. Now, I can say that I have a significant knowledge bank about these emerging technologies. I was able to apply my understanding to create a wireframe and white paper for a decentralized face-to-face loaning platform: Cash $Back.
What new things did you learn about yourself?
Through this module, I learned a lot about the feedback process. I had multiple ideas for my module summative that I was really excited about. However, when I brought them up with guest speakers and module leads, they got picked apart and heavily criticized. I realized that I didn’t know quite as much as I thought about blockchain, and as such was able to begin seeing this feedback not as something to fear, but something to learn from. By the end of the module, I hoped for critical feedback on my work, as I knew that that is what would help me the most.
What are your big takeaway lessons from this project?
From this module, I took away a really good understanding of a technology that could be very relevant to all of us in the future. I found a passion for design – spending hours on end choosing color palettes, font combinations and arranging features for my wireframe. I came to new realizations about how educational access and wealth inequality can hinder or aid the adoption of new technologies – an insight into the privilege I have to do so. Finally, I came up with an idea that, if developed properly, could lead me to a path of dApp development and entrepreneurship. Blockchain is now a huge passion of mine.
Driving Question: How might we use blockchain technology to create future innovative ventures?
What were your goals for this module?
My goal for this module was to design a decentralized app, token/coin, or NFT collection based on a concrete understanding of what blockchain is. I achieved my goals by being particularly attentive with our guest speakers and asking many questions to understand what blockchain is.
What new things did you learn about yourself?
I learned how interested I am for the potential impact of Web 3.0 on our world.
What are your big takeaway lessons from this project?
Driving Question: How can I engineer the strongest bridge with the most efficient use of the specified material?
Module Overview: Bridges are perhaps the most challenging and fascinating feats of engineering.
In this module, students became civil and structural engineers by working at the Manchego Fromage Consultancy, where they wereresponsible for coming up with the most efficient bridge design.
Students strived to creatively meet their imaginary client’s needs within budget and material constraints. The clients were the City of Rodentia, working in partnership with the Rodent Migration Travel Group.
In learning about bridge types, students explored the effect of tension and compressive forces, differentiated between brittle and ductile material properties, and investigated the calculations that go into designing bridges.
Marily M.
I enjoyed the module so much. I love creating and building things, so I had lots of fun building some testing bridges and the final one. I faced some challenges I didn’t think would happen, but I found a way to deal with them.
For this module, we designed and built a spaghetti bridge basing ourselves on our client’s needs from the “City of Rodentia”. I learned about bridge types, the effect of tension and compression, and the calculations that need to be considered to design a bridge. This knowledge helped me design a strong and effective bridge.
My final product is an Open Tender, which is the proposal for our “clients.” It includes the price, design, 2D and 3D model, calculations, and other information pieces.
Diego M.
I learned how much I like to design things and make them physically. It was enjoyable and challenging to build a bridge with pasta because you need to consider many factors and develop techniques to build the strongest bridge.
This project allowed me to learn about the different types of bridges and the engineering process and what it includes (different studies from the area, forces of members, strength to weight ratio, etc.)
Based on our investigations, we had to experiment with building pasta trusses to see what works, what doesn’t work, and which type of bridge truss was stronger than the others.
We created and proposed an open tender to the fictitious Rodent Migration Travel Group after running our experiments.
Driving Question: How might we produce a product or concept that contributes to a more sustainable fashion future?
Final Product: My summative product for this module was a textile art rug bag that visually incorporated ideas of punk and queer fashion. The bag itself is sort of a tote bag style and on each side there is a different design that I hand punched. For the “punk” side of the bag I designed a traditionally punk aesthetic image of an eye, a large X in front of it, and the words “F**k off”. When designing this, I wanted to keep in mind the traditional punk look as well as the values of being anti-capitalist, anti-oppression, and just generally living outside of the traditional social norms. For the other side of the bag, I wanted to express more ideas of the queer self and experience with a rainbow design around a stick figure body. My aim was for it to be colorful and expressive, just like the queercore fashion movements that intersected with the punk subculture.
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
I wanted to have fun creating my own unique textile art piece that incorporated different subculture fashions I was interested in exploring. I also wanted to grow in my creativity and continue to make new pieces as an artist. I got to learn a lot more about the history of punk fashion and the queer community’s influence on it. I’m really happy with my final product because I think it’s a very unique piece that not only visually represents the aesthetics of this movement, but because I also made it myself, it embodies the values of the punk and queercore movements as well.
What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?
I’m pretty new to making rugs, but I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the art form. Making this rug bag was a bit of a risk, but I’m really proud of how it turned out. I like taking creative risks and having fun with my art. In the future, I hope to continue to have fun and practice creativity with any art project I do.
January 14, 2021 by Effie H., Teddy F. , and Zuzanna W.
Driving Question: How can we think critically to effectively inform citizens in a media manipulated world?
What were your goals for this module? How did you achieve them?
Our goal was to raise awareness about hemp and show some common misconceptions about this plant while connecting it all to the theme of sustainability. We presented our campaign on Instagram.
What did you learn about yourself or about your creative process or about your medium?
We learned that the process of choosing a font is a very long one and that critical thinking skills can help us find misconceptions in the social media world.
