Program Date: February 28 and March 1, 2025 - 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Venue: Design Innovation Fellows Suite - DIH 250 (click for campus map)
Registration Deadline: February 24, 2025 by 11:59pm, or the maximum capacity is reached
Upon completing our program, Ycenter will provide participants with a verified certificate that can be showcased as a LinkedIn badge, highlighting your achievement and new skills. This badge not only enhances your professional profile but also signals to potential employers that you've gained valuable, hands-on experience in innovation, sustainability, design thinking and entrepreneurship. We will also showcase your project on our newly launched global respository of SDGs projects for additional growth and networking opportunities.
This two-day bootcamp is designed to take participants through the process of breaking down a complex
problem and turning an idea into an actionable solution and finally making a business model for it.
Ycenter two day programs are truly immersive for participants to learn about Entrepreneurship, Complex
Problem Solving and Human-centered design methodology. You will learn, ideate, build and explore new ways
to solve real problems using the power of business. You do not need to have a team to participate in this
event. Individual registrations are welcome.
The entire workshop is delivered using Experiential Learning Pedagogy, which means as participants you will be engaging in hands-on activities rather than learning only theories. Get a chance to specifically work on your respective project ideas (if any) or pick a problem statement under the context of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Insights and mentorship from experienced professionals in the field.
Dhairya Pujara is the Founder, CEO at Ycenter. He has been a global public speaker with invitations from the United Nations, World Bank, World Economic Forum, Social Enterprise World Forum, SXSW, TEDx and top universities and organizations in 15+ countries across 4 continents. His work has been featured in magazines like Entrepreneur, INC, nominated for Forbes 30 under 30 and several other media publications like BBC radio, Huffington post, Philadelphia Business journal to name a few. He is a serial entrepreneur, working directly to support job creation, technology innovation ventures and for this work he has received a visa reserved for individuals of extraordinary abilities from the US immigration services.
J.R. Campbell serves as the executive director of the Design Innovation (DI) Initiative at Kent State University to support transition design thinking (human-centered design + design for change), challenge-based innovation, technology-infused maker communities and the curation of trans-disciplinary collaborative teams to tackle "wicked" problems. His role involves leading the DI Hub, a 68,000-square-foot facility designed to foster collaboration across all disciplines. The DI Hub environments encourage innovation and cross-disciplinary problem-solving, linking students and faculty to a network of makerspaces in the building and resource laboratories throughout the university. Campbell’s background is rich in textile arts and digital fabrication and transformation. Before joining Kent State, he led research for the Centre for Advanced Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art, where he worked on projects digitizing and reinterpreting historical textile designs. His extensive experience in both academic and practical aspects of design and innovation positions him as a key leader in driving the university’s goals for a cutting-edge, collaborative education for the future.
Our network includes leading universities, high impact organizations, industry leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world.
Through the Design Innovation Initiative at Kent State, we bring together students, faculty, community and leading experts from diverse disciplines who are thoughtfully addressing technology and society through design to become creative, intersectional problem-solvers and fearless collaborators in the face of complex, messy problems. We value:
If you are a university affiliate, student club member or just a curious learner, wanting more information on Ycenter programs can come to you, please contact us below!
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