TESSI Institute (Colombia)

Dates: November 14 - 16, 2024
Location:
Host: Facultad de Minas, Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Medellin
Number of Participants: Se escogerán entre 30 y 40 participantes
Costs: Approx. $400,000 pesos
Partner Organization: Universidad Nacional de Colombia-Medellin, Colorado School of Mines

Program Summary
The Transformative Education for Sustainable Social Impact (TESSI) Institute is a one-week interdisciplinary workshop designed to empower faculty with the expertise and tools needed to reshape their courses and curricula in response to global grand challenges. Rooted in the principles of creative inquiry and the praxis of Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship, the TESSI Institute offers educators an innovative framework for crafting curricula that engages students in authentic, real-world projects, where they co-create innovative, practical, and sustainable solutions that address the needs of vulnerable populations and communities facing social, economic, and environmental challenges.

Workshop attendees will build toolkits for delivering sustainable impact, while preparing their students to identify problems, design solutions, develop business models, and leverage storytelling. This method places students at the center of the knowledge discovery process, using a hands-on, hearts-on approach for students to make meaning based on their lived experiences. Students take radical ownership in their projects, while faculty mentors become partners and co-creators striving to propel their projects forward on the journey towards tangible, sustainable impact. Faculty members will become catalysts for transformative education who foster a new generation of socially conscious engineers, entrepreneurs, and leaders ready to tackle the complex challenges of our time. TESSI is envisioned as a week of inspiration, skill-building and network-building with a deep commitment to driving sustainable social impact through technology education.

Para las participantes

TEISS es un taller interdisciplinario de 3 días diseñado a empoderar docentes de ingeniería con el conocimiento y herramientas necesarias para transformar sus cursos y programas en respuesta a los grandes retos que enfrenta la sociedad, en particular los sectores mas vulnerables. Basado en los principios del pensamiento creativo y la praxis de ingeniería humanitaria y emprendimiento social, el taller TEISS ofrece a educadores un marco innovador que conecta a los estudiantes con proyectos auténticos y reales en donde ellos co-crean soluciones innovadoras, practicas, y sostenibles para atender las necesidades de las poblaciones más vulnerables.

Los temas que se aprenderán en el taller TEISS incluyen:

Entender los grandes retos globales y como se manifiestan estos en Colombia
Pensamiento creativo y la praxis de la ingeniería humanitaria y emprendimiento social
Diseño e innovación curricular enfocado en proyectos reales y auténticos
Identificación de Problemas y Diseño de Soluciones
Desarrollo de Modelos de Negocios Sostenibles
Impacto de las Historias de los Proyectos
Aprendizaje activo y participación de estudiantes
Evaluación de y Compromiso con el Impacto Sostenible

Día 1 Tema: Investigación creativa para una educación transformadora y un impacto social

9AM: Icebreaker Activity to build a strong learning community.
- If possible, move this to an opening dinner on Sunday evening?
- Set up a networking bingo so that the participants interact with each other in a more informal setting.
10AM: Welcome from all hosts
- IIT Kharagpur - Tech / Business
- Lehigh University
10:15AM: Keynote Address: An inspiring talk on the importance of transformative education and its role in addressing global grand challenges.
11:30AM: Break
11:45AM: Small Group Discussion + Plenary Debrief: State of the System
- Challenges with current teaching methods.
- Systemic Challenges facing Indian Higher Education
- Expectations and experiences related to the TESSI Institute.
12:30PM: TESSI Institute Goal-Setting
- TESSI Institute's goals, principles, and objectives.
- What might we accomplish; what might we not.
- Introduction to TESSI Project
  - Project framework and expectations.
  - Participant will form teams and get their charge
  - Hosts will identify 5-6 projects that the participants will work on. All project frameworks will be focused on some kind of interdisciplinary impact-focused program creation with various thematic areas - food systems, healthcare, manufacturing, supply chains, etc.
1:00PM: Networking Lunch with Project Teams
2:00PM: Talk: Principles of Creative Inquiry
- Introduction to creative inquiry methodologies and project-based learning, and their application in the classroom.
- Boundary spanning / interdisciplinary models
3:00PM: Workshop: Integrating creative inquiry and authentic projects into courses and curricula
- Participants will identify ways in which they can integrate creative inquiry opportunities into their courses and curriculum.
- Participants will follow a structured process to explore the options and trade-offs when integrating projects into classes.
4:45PM: Quick Debrief
5:00PM: End of Day’s Activities

Tema del día 2: Ingeniería Humanitaria y Emprendimiento Social

10:00AM: Talk: Introduction to Humanitarian Engineering
11:00AM: Workshop: Integrating Humanitarian Engineering Projects:
- Practical exercises on applying engineering principles to address humanitarian challenges.
- Mapping the SDGs to Engineering and Entrepreneurship Curricula and Projects
- Navigating major humanitarian design questions
1:00PM: Networking Lunch: Informal discussions and networking.
2:00PM: Talk: Introduction to Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship
3:00PM: Workshop: Business Models for Social Impact
- Quick review of Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas
- Creating sustainable business models for projects.
3:45PM: Project Work
- Project teams integrate humanitarian engineering and social entrepreneurship principles into their projects.
4:45PM: Quick Debrief: Group reflection on the day's learnings and project ideas.
5:00PM: End of Day’s Activities

Día 3: Design Thinking e Innovación Curricular

10:00AM: Workshop: Design Thinking
- A hands-on workshop on design thinking methodologies and how to integrate them into impact-focused projects.
1:00PM: Lunch Break
2:00PM: Workshop: Student-Centered Program Design
- Faculty-Student Co-Creation Approaches
- Radical Ownership
- Mentoring Best Practices
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment
4:00PM: Panel Session: Getting Administration Buy-In and Finding Resources
- University Administrators and Change Leaders share their lessons learned on academic innovation and transformation.
5:00PM: End of Day’s Activities