Students To Hack Their Way To Solutions For Waltham Nonprofits

WALTHAM, MA — This weekend at Brandeis, the innovation lab will be packed with students in a race to try to solve some of the very specific problems that a dozen Waltham-based nonprofits haven't been able to solve themselves.

On Sunday, a panel of judges that include the mayor will select a winner.

The Brandeis MakerLab and the Brandeis International Business School teamed up to hold a “hackathon” in an effort to help the Waltham community and give students a real twist on a fun, deep thinking tech-based event that often deals in the abstract.

Although this will be Brandeis' 13th hackathon, this is only the second that has a goal of specifically focusing on helping solve a problem from the community, according to Gene Miller, the Brandeis International Business School professor co-organizing the event.

The idea for the event stems from a leadership class at the school that Miller teaches, where she has her students serving as non-voting board fellows for a year on several Waltham nonprofits.

“It’s a total blast,” she told Patch in an interview. “For a year they love getting the experience.”
Miller met with Ian Roy, who heads the Innovation Lab at Brandeis, to work with her students on design think.

Roy helped run the first 3-D printer focused hackathon in higher ed in 2014, and had been looking for a way to add a specific tangible, real world outcome to the hacks. Working on problems that the nonprofit community members faced seemed like the answer that fit the quest. And Miller had the connections.

The hackathon is a chance for Miller’s students to practice their leadership skills through teamwork and the pitches: They’ll be the ones pitching the needs of the Waltham nonprofits to the students as participants decide which nonprofit to team up with and help.

"The dream is to get a scientist with an artist with a business student all on the same team with varied expertise and work together to see the problem from different angles and collaborate," said Roy.

Each hackathon team will have about 24 hours to come up with a design think solution. The winning team will get $1,000.

“They may come up with a 'codestalation' solution or a drone tech solution or they may come up with a new website and have it be cutting edge,” said Miller. “Or it could be that they do an art messaging billboard that motivates and compels the community. The hack can be art, business or tech. But it has to be tied to the organization and an issue the organization faces.”

Last year's winning team came up with a solution for the Charles River Museum for Industry and Innovation to help the museum add innovation. The problem the nonprofit brought to the hack was, although it focused on the industrial revolution there really was no innovation on stage.

The team created a map of a 3-D printer and then ended up giving a 3-D printer to the museum, which now uses it for an exhibit so that museum-goers can come and create.

The thing that's special here is that it's not a one off event, said Roy.

"The prototype started a dialogue," said Roy. "It's really cool to see these relationships start off as something that sparks imagination and evolve into a longer relationship."

Miller said she’s most excited that the students will walk away with design thinking experience, which she describes as a non-traditional look at solutions.

“It takes a customer centric or user centric approach,” she said.

If, for example, a nonprofit wants to fix its very poor web presence and marketing and social media, instead of just creating a new website, a design think approach would come at it with the motive of creating a design that embraces what the organization does.

“It asks the question: Can we design a website that lifts and advances the mission as companies design products,” she said.

For Roy the exciting thing is watching students try something that's new and challenging; and apply a tool in an unorthodox manner to a solution that wouldn't have been available otherwise.

"One of the most unique things is that Brandeis has no engineering program. None of these students have an engineering background," said Roy. "They want to see change in the world. Our community are made up of true believers who want to make an impact, and we want to connect them with tool sets that enable them to take their imaginations or ambitions and apply it in reality. "

Doors will open at 8 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, and on Sunday afternoon, a panel of judges including community activists, technology specialists and educators — and Mayor Jeannette McCarthy — will judge the results: on how well they satisfy the needs of the nonprofit, as well as on complexity, creativity, originality and adherence to the challenge.

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Photo by Jenna Fisher/Patch Staff