Page 17 - COMP Magazine - Winter 2018
P. 17
By Edward Barnes, MD, FACP
The emerging culture of our nation is changing to a
more technologically-driven society, resulting not only
in the need for more innovation but a critical
evaluation of obsolete practices. It is of paramount
importance that our university systems no longer
prepare students for jobs that may no longer exist or
be necessary, but help them embrace and prepare for
the wave of the future.
The Center for Innovation at WesternU was launched
in September 2017. To complement the efforts of the
Center, the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the
Pacific has created an Office of Academic Innovation
that hosts training workshops for the
interprofessional student interest group named isquad.
The Center for Innovation, in collaboration with
isquad, embarked on a mission to provide WesternU
students with the skill set necessary to be leaders and
facilitators of the changes to come.
isquad required each student to declare their
innovator identity: Catalyst, Disruptor, Entrepreneur,
Inventor, Innovator, or Researcher. These identities are
an integral part of isquad, allowing students to
recognize that innovation comes in many forms. “You
are the next BIG idea in health care” is the tagline
used to empower students. These ideals were the
cornerstone of isquad’s first workshop, where
students from each identity group defined their
respective innovator identities. Students were intermixed in groups to teach them the being considered by the university, and some features have already been implemented.
concept of design thinking. The groups were assigned a real-world issue with the goal The next session involved the Director of the Center for Innovation, world-renowned
of developing real-world solutions to make an impact on campus. Students utilized innovator and futurist Nicholas Webb. Webb led a “train the trainer” workshop
the concepts of gaining empathy, ideation, prototype development, and iteration to utilizing Hänz® STEM toys, challenging the facilitators to construct the “tallest car.”
develop creative ideas to solve a problem. The solutions from the first activity are now The science-based premise behind this exercise was to teach center of gravity and
Winter 2018 15
The emerging culture of our nation is changing to a
more technologically-driven society, resulting not only
in the need for more innovation but a critical
evaluation of obsolete practices. It is of paramount
importance that our university systems no longer
prepare students for jobs that may no longer exist or
be necessary, but help them embrace and prepare for
the wave of the future.
The Center for Innovation at WesternU was launched
in September 2017. To complement the efforts of the
Center, the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the
Pacific has created an Office of Academic Innovation
that hosts training workshops for the
interprofessional student interest group named isquad.
The Center for Innovation, in collaboration with
isquad, embarked on a mission to provide WesternU
students with the skill set necessary to be leaders and
facilitators of the changes to come.
isquad required each student to declare their
innovator identity: Catalyst, Disruptor, Entrepreneur,
Inventor, Innovator, or Researcher. These identities are
an integral part of isquad, allowing students to
recognize that innovation comes in many forms. “You
are the next BIG idea in health care” is the tagline
used to empower students. These ideals were the
cornerstone of isquad’s first workshop, where
students from each identity group defined their
respective innovator identities. Students were intermixed in groups to teach them the being considered by the university, and some features have already been implemented.
concept of design thinking. The groups were assigned a real-world issue with the goal The next session involved the Director of the Center for Innovation, world-renowned
of developing real-world solutions to make an impact on campus. Students utilized innovator and futurist Nicholas Webb. Webb led a “train the trainer” workshop
the concepts of gaining empathy, ideation, prototype development, and iteration to utilizing Hänz® STEM toys, challenging the facilitators to construct the “tallest car.”
develop creative ideas to solve a problem. The solutions from the first activity are now The science-based premise behind this exercise was to teach center of gravity and
Winter 2018 15
