Innovation and Design Strategy

The Innovation and Design Strategy practice area offers the Wond’ry community members an opportunity to learn proven approaches to innovation challenges and teaches techniques for generating effective solutions to support positive change in teams, organizations, and society. See below for a better understanding of our offerings and structure.

I&DR Gradient Background

Programs

IBM Enterprise Design Thinking Course

This 10-week course provides participants with a practical framework for problem solving and connects participant teams with local external partners, giving them the opportunity to apply their learning to socially impactful organizations.

The Wond'ry Quantum Studio

The Wond'ry Quantum Studio is an eight month course on Quantum Computing. Throughout the eight month journey divided into four cycles, students will get the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of quantum computing, understand the current technologies and trends from leading companies in the field, and work on advanced concerts in a final industry-based learning cycle.

UX Studio

This year-long program commences with foundational learning during the initial semester, followed by practical project-based application in the subsequent semester. While is it ideally tailored for 2nd and 3rd year students, 1st-year and 4th-vear students are also encouraged to participate.

Industry Collaborator Program 

The program takes the clients through the design thinking process starting with finding the right problem through empathy and clearly defining the problem and moves onto ideation sessions including brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and iteration for rapid learning and improvement.

Internal Consulting Program

Elevate your capacity for innovation through our internal consulting program, open to all Vanderbilt work units and faculty groups. Guided by our mission to empower innovation, we offer a spectrum of options, from one-day tailored innovation workshops to more extensive re-redesign projects. As participants engage with our program, they embark on an enlightening journey that seamlessly bridges the worlds of design thinking and practical application. Our carefully curated workshops harmonize theoretical principles with hands-on practice, enriching creative prowess and problem-solving acumen. Through a strategic fusion of design sprints and tangible projects, these sessions swiftly transition from idea inception to tangible realization. Participants become fully immersed in experiential learning, refining ideation skills, and witnessing their inventive ideas materialize into impactful, real-world ventures.

Innovation Challenges

50x50x50 (50 Ideas to Solutions)

In honor of Vanderbilt’s Sesquicentennial and inspired by the university’s “Dare to Grow” motto, “50 Ideas, 50 Solutions in 50 Days” was created to introduce staff to the design thinking process. David A. Owens, Evans Family Executive Director of the Wond’ry, guided teams to envision and create potential solutions. Senior leaders, including Chancellor Daniel Diermeier, stopped into each session to hear from Vanderbilt staff and to provide feedback into their topics and solutions. Groups have started to tackle issues identified as part of the initiative.

Commodore Cup (2023 Theme: Sustainability)

As part of the sesquicentennial celebration, the Office of the Chancellor launched a grant program to support activities and projects that engage with the university’s history, look ahead to its future, and explore what makes Vanderbilt distinctive and unique, and the Wond’ry was awarded one of these grants to produce an innovation challenge, which led to the creation of the Commodore Cup. The 2023 theme was sustainability.

Innovation Resources

Grow your innovation capabilities by tapping into this collection of resources that is curated to help you expand your knowledge of design thinking and to assist you with creative problem solving. 


Get Involved

If you are interested in participating in any of our available programs, fill out our interest form below.