Dana Scott is an Assistant Professor here at PhilaU. She teaches in the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering, and Commerce. She is also an artist, and produces most of her work here in Philadelphia. She obtained a Master’s Degree from Tyler School of Art at Temple University, and her artwork can be found on PhilaU’s website on her Design Portfolio. With regards to teaching, she encourages her students to be creative and express themselves in their own way, because every student comes from a different background. Professor Scott is involved in PhilaU’s Integrative Design Process course, which involves students creating projects and participating in a competition, which is happening this week.
1. What is the IDP program? What exactly does it entail?
Integrative Design Process, or IDP, is a course that is part of the Core Curriculum in the Kanbar College of Design Engineering and Commerce. It focuses on design thinking through collaborative projects using research, iterative problem solving, and integrative thinking. In a nutshell, there are team-based projects where students learn to use tools to help them work through the process of framing and solving a problem. The process is the key.
2. How do you plan the final competition at the end of the semester?
Each class has a final, in class trade show. The students vote on the presentations, and the top 1-2 teams move on to the cumulative trade show. For that trade show, the IDP faculty all divide up the various “jobs” needed to make the evening run.
3. What kind of projects do you typically see during the competition?
There is usually quite a variety. Common themes that I have seen over the semesters have been focused on transportation and food.
4. Are there any projects that have particularly stood out to you?
I always remember the projects with the best prototypes. We all stress the importance of having a good prototype, even if it is a clear concept poster that maps out a system. Having something that makes the idea more tangible increases interest and understanding. A few years ago there was a team that had a project to extend the route of the Ram Van to go beyond the PhilaU campus. They got a Matchbox bus, painted it like the Ram Van, and viewers could drive it around on a map to the various proposed destinations. It made a great impression.
6. What kind of awards do you give out to the winners, or what criteria do the judges look for?
The awards are “The Rammies” and they are 3D slotted cardboard rams heads. During the trade show, each team presents to a group of judges consisting of 3 “alumni” judges (students who took IDP in the past), and an industry judge, someone from outside the university. The judges look at the overall process that the team took; the tools, research, and iterations that they utilized in coming up with and refining the idea. The awards are “Industry Choice,” “Alumni Choice,” and “People’s Choice” which comes from a Poll Everywhere survey taken during the trade show.
7. What role do you play in the competition process?
The faculty only play a “service” role in the competition process. In the classroom, we give feedback and critiques as the opportunity projects are being developed. The students and any visiting faculty/critics vote on the projects in the classroom trade show. In the cumulative trade show, we divide up the tasks. So sometimes I am setting up the space, organizing the snacks, or finding “alumni judges”.
8. What is your favorite part of being involved in the competition?
I love to see all of the ideas that the students are able to generate. Even with topics that I’ve seen repeatedly, the students come up with unique solutions, or new and interesting ways to present them. The final trade show evening is a lot of fun. We are all very proud of what the students as a whole, are able to achieve.