From Immersion to Ideation: A Fall Quarter of Momentum and Meaning
UW MHCI+D Cohort 11 students at end-of-quarter poster show for Ideation Studio
On September 18th, MHCI+D’s Cohort 11 embarked on their year-long graduate studies journey together. They kicked off the program with Immersion Studio, a week-long orientation filled with insightful discussions with UW professors and tours of Seattle museums and cultural attractions, such as the Burke Museum, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Public Library, and Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI).
Fall Quarter officially began the following week, launching forward with core classes including Ideation Studio, Usability and User Research, and the Design, Use, Build (DUB) Seminar. In Ideation Studio, students learned about post-humanism and technology as a precursor to their quarter-long design projects. In Usability and User Research, students delved into the world of user research. Once a month, students attended DUB Seminars, which featured guest lectures from industry leaders, such as Chief Scientist Jaime Teevan from Microsoft and Prof. Sean Munson from UW’s Human Centered Design & Engineering (HCDE) department.
MHCI+D also organized additional events for a well-rounded student experience. The inaugural DUB Community Day gathered HCI students for workshops, discussions on the future of the DUB community, featuring an engaging keynote address by Professor Allen Sayegh from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In November, Cohort 11 was joined by Magda (Amazon Web Services) and Leandro Kaspary (Microsoft) for an insightful information session that covered networking tips for creating meaningful relationships in a professional environment, especially abroad.
Between working on various group projects, the cohort found time to stay connected through parties in the studio celebrating student birthdays and the winter holidays. Fall Quarter concluded with final presentations and a poster show to celebrate the cohort’s hard work. Projects covered a variety of topics, such as health literacy, sustainable habits, intergenerational communities, tattoos, and so much more. Having successfully completed their first quarter, students look forward to continuing to deepen their HCI studies and begin capstone project planning.
