Global Arc

Students will design and develop novel public-internet technologies that reimagine the future of gig work. They will work with cooperatives of workers and drivers that envision a world where community-owned and open source alternatives are part of the gig work ecosystem. These new platforms aim to be more equitable for couriers, local merchants, and the communities around them by opening up the algorithmic decision-making processes to be defined by all stakeholders. Students will engage in hands-on design and implementation of components of an open-source ecosystem to enable co-ops to take local control of the digital infrastructure.

This course provides students with tools and processes to develop humanistic innovations. The course will cover topics of design research, service design tools, and critical areas in preventing unintended consequences. "Smart" innovations will be the technical problem space for the course. The class takes a practice approach, with reading from articles and books and team assignments designed to practice the skills discussed. The course will provide new tools for students in entrepreneurship and design, new types of outcomes for the social sciences, and a human-centered view on innovation for those in engineering.

Venture capital is a driving force behind innovation and entrepreneurship, although the unique working details of venture capital firms and their processes are well-kept secrets. Early stage investors not only fund startups but also enable innovation through mentorship and partnership with the entrepreneurs. Understanding how these investors think and operate is critical to students who are interested in entrepreneurship, as well as to those who would like to pursue venture capital.

In Community Project Studios (formerly 'EPICS'), students earn academic credit for participation in multidisciplinary teams that work on projects over one or more years. The course mission is to provide a hands-on, experiential environment, in which students (often alongside community partners) bring real-world projects through to fruition. Although the methodology and projects vary for each studio, all teams in the program are supported through skill-development workshops, close-knit advising, and cultures of peer-to-peer collaboration. Students may participate for up to six semesters.

In Community Project Studios (formerly 'EPICS'), students earn academic credit for participation in multidisciplinary teams that work on projects over one or more years. The course mission is to provide a hands-on, experiential environment, in which students (often alongside community partners) bring real-world projects through to fruition. Although the methodology and projects vary for each studio, all teams in the program are supported through skill-development workshops, close-knit advising, and cultures of peer-to-peer collaboration. Students may participate for up to six semesters.

Autonomy, flexibility, confidence and rigor are essential qualities for effectively working with design thinking in real life and dealing with challenges that emerge from chaos, ambiguity and lack of structure. This course is both an in-depth experience for students who completed ENT200 or Tiger Challenge, and an opportunity to use design thinking skills to tackle problems within domains and interests they are passionate about. Students will learn designers' mindsets and a wider range of research and design methods to start working more independently as designers.

This course looks at longstanding societal challenges through the lens of socially-minded entrepreneurship and innovation. We will explore whether and how social-benefit venture models - for-profit or non-profit - can help address comparable issues in underserved urban and rural communities across America. How can these communities become more self-reliant and prosperous against a backdrop of increasing inequality in our society? We will explore potential models for durable social ventures, engage with frontline entrepreneurs, and most importantly develop your own solution ideas for the problems and communities you care about.

Shaping cities, buildings and objects to exploit the potentials of inevitable technological change is an important path to transform the world where we live. This class will lead students through a complete design thinking cycle (empathizing, reframing, ideation, prototyping, testing, proposing) focused on proposing potentially real entities, products, services, structures, activities, or widely acceptable changes to policy for the adoption of new technology.

This hands-on course introduces students to analysis and actions required to launch and commercialize a tech company, through the use of Harvard Business School cases, visits from entrepreneurs, and two "field assignments". You will learn conceptual frameworks and analytical techniques for evaluating technologies, markets, and commercialization strategies. Additionally, you will learn how to attract and motivate the resources needed to start a company (e.g. people, corporate partners and venture capital), prepare business plans, structure relationships, refine product-market fit, and create and grow enterprise value.

The Leadership Development for Business course deals with the strategic, organizational and leadership challenges that global corporations face. The course provides students with a unique perspective on leadership vision, and how leaders recognize and capitalize on opportunities. We will focus on how leaders achieve results and make things happen working with and through others. This course presents innovative, practical and field tested methods used by successful business leaders to achieve sustained results. Classes will consist of a mix of classroom lecture, case study discussions and guest speakers.