BUILD THE TEAM
students
The team is designed to include up to 20 students. We accept students from all years and from any area of study. Your age or major do not matter.
DESIGN PROFESSIONALS AND MENTORS
The project, the renovation of an existing space, will require design professionals and consultants. The students will work on the team with them.
Additional mentors will be brought onto the team based on the needs and aspirations of each student participant.
FACULTY
We partner with an educator/faculty member from a local higher education institution and they serve as a guiding member on the team.
FACILITATORS
Light Think University staff will serve as facilitators of the process from beginning to end of the students' experience. Two to three facilitators will be assigned to each Project. They serve as Owner's Rep to the Client and as guides for the students and professional team.
THE COURSE: 4 PHASES
SHARE, IMMERSE, RELATE, TRANSLATE, HONOR, AND VALIDATE
In this course, you will learn about:
- An innovative design process that can be translated to any project requiring thought before it is implemented.
After successfully completing this course, you will be able to:
- Engage with and learn from a group of mentors who know and care about you.
PHASE 1
PRE-COURSE PREP
The students are asked to prepare themselves for the course by:
- Visiting a space to look at space and light in a new way. They should document their feelings, thoughts, and reactions.
- Write a reaction to their favorite or least favorite spaces.
SHARE AND IMMERSE
The experience begins with the students participating in a rapid charrette (brainstorming session) where they express their interests, goals and aspirations for the course. They are partnered with a mentor (professional team member of the project).
The student is expected to immerse themselves into the space they are redesigning. They will be required to conduct historical research and lighting anthropology; these two tasks allow the student to immerse themselves in function of the space and its citizens.
PHASE 2
RELATED, TRANSLATE, AND HONOR
The student experiences the power of empathy when it is successfully translated into the design. By spending ample and significant time learning about the people for whom we are designing, the student is able to relate the design to their needs and therefore translate their desired experiences into a physical space. Once the design is complete, the student is responsible for ensuring that the professional design team has honored the program and the needs of the client.
PHASE 3
CONSTRUCTION AND POST CONSTRUCTION VALIDATION
Student conducts validating research. This gives them an opportunity to see what works what doesn't, what they were able to adhere to from the beginning, reflect, learn, and better their approach if necessary.
PHASE 4
POST EXPERIENCE WRAP UP
STUDENT REFLECTION, PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT, EVALUATIONS
The students participates in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the project, direct all media and public relations to promote the project, participate in speeches at press conferences, are assisted with portfolio development, and perform self and team evaluations.
AFTER THE PROJECT AND BEYOND
PROMOTING IMPACT OF PROJECT
The students and professional team members emerge from the project experience with a better understanding of how to be innovative thinkers and doers.
They've developed the following innovators' skillset:
- curiosity
- criticism
- continuous improvement
- creative problem solving
- research by acquaintance
- collaboration
- civility
- flexibility
- communication
- strategic thinking
- compassion
- empathy
- adaptability
- courage
- design thinking
- agility
- skepticism
- leadership
- synthesis
The student and their mentor have fostered a relationship through the vehicle of working on a real world project. That relationship is intended to stay intact throughout the career of the student as a resource and person of support.