DtM and Product Design
Design that Matters has demonstrated a commitment to working with underserved communities in developing countries as well as indigenous groups, the disabled and the elderly. DtM student teams have tackled such challenges as a non-electric incubator for premature infants in rural areas, a children's talking toy for Native American language preservation, "smart canes" for the blind, hand-powered electricity generation for rural computing and communication tools for handicapped children.
We are building up to the creation of products and services that will have a meaningful and lasting impact on the lives of communities in need. DtM has an inventory of hundreds of design ideas that we are working to convert into successful products. To date, DtM students have accomplished the following:
-- One business startup (for low-cost eyeglasses)
-- One technology licensing agreement (improved IV drip systems)
-- Four patent applications (medical devices and a microfilm library)
-- Six student-run field tests of DtM prototypes (India, Guyana, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Mali, Benin and Costa Rica)
-- Twenty promising student prototypes
DtM students have won the Lemelson International Technology Award, the MIT IDEAS Award, and the Collegiate Inventors Competition.
DtM Implementation
Design that Matters has generated a number of important achievements since its inception in 2000 as a volunteer program run by graduate students at the MIT Media Lab:
-- Eight DtM courses completed, reaching 280 students including 100 from developing countries
-- DtM challenges used to satisfy capstone design course requirements at MIT, Fall 2002
-- DtM challenges currently in use in India and Brazil
-- DtM interest groups formed in Kenya, Europe and other U.S. schools
-- Iterative design process demonstrated in three instances where student teams have taken over a DtM challenge from previous team
DtM and Students
Since its inception, over 700 academic and professional volunteers have participated in the creation of over a dozen product concepts, two of which have reached implementation in the developing world. The DtM project experience is, for many volunteers, their first exposure to problems faced by people in poor communities. DtM alumni are embracing their role as citizens of the world, and many have realigned their life trajectories to focus on careers in the social sector.
The following is a selection of the feedback we have received from former DtM students. First, a chemical engineering undergraduate student from the 2001 MIT DtM course, who worked on cholera treatment devices:
Design that Matters was a real inspiration that promoted a pivotal point in my career. The class topics, readings, and the resources that were offered, inspired me to work on projects that I truly cared about, through which I could see a concrete deliverable, with meaningful impact on a tangible community. [...]
The type of activities I became involved with have changed substantially in the last two years. I feel confident that DtM has played a large role on that decision. I became very active in working for solutions for the developing world, to the point of engaging in a 6-months long project in Nicaragua.
The comments of a first-year graduate student in MIT Mechanical Engineering, a student in the 2002 MIT DtM course, who worked on non-electric incubator for premature infants in developing countries:
[DtM has] changed my thoughts of design and development and has encouraged me to pursue developmental design as a career. I come from Sri Lanka, and like many students from this part of the world, have always wanted to use my engineering background to help alleviate the challenges that are faced by the developing world. DtM crystallized this goal for me, and allowed me to carve my own path toward this vision.
DtM was one of the first classes I'd taken that emphasized design for developing countries. There was hardly any mention of service design in my undergrad engineering curriculum.
The comments of a senior-year undergraduate student in MIT Mechanical Engineering, who chose to work on a DtM design challenge for his capstone design project:
The concept developed at DtM provided us with a huge jump start in creating a working prototype. By developing the educational tool, I was still able learn about engineering, but was much more motivated because my hard work could actually have an impact on the world and on peoples' lives. In fact, I have been so invigorated by this course that, along with some of the other designers, I hope to develop this prototype into an actual product which could be deployed in the next couple years. [...]
Whereas with most courses, I am happy at the end because I get a good grade, in DtM I was happy because I felt that my hard work was important--the grade did not even matter.
In a survey of DtM students at MIT , 88% responded that working on DtM design challenges "significantly changed my approach towards socially conscious design," and 94% responded that the experience "gave me a good understanding of the problems and challenges in designing appropriate technologies in the real world."
