One week ago, I didn’t really have an idea how a virtual setting for an international workgroup would work. In my head, a design team comes together at a table, tackling issues and brainstorming concepts. Quite frankly, that was what my experience in the past had been. Entering this internship, I knew that I would have to reimagine that image and hone in on what it means to be a team.
After this week, I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed at how we have all come together—both as individual project teams and as the 2020 Rice 360 cohort—to really come to a ‘virtual’ roundtable. The zeal and the passion is 100% there. Every time my team and I get together, it is a space which we truly learn and innovate all at once, with one another. The innovation isn’t all about the design projects either. In fact, it comes through in how we innovate the collaborative element of this virtual space. Week one has taught me lesson #1 in team building: Adaptation is not just in the project, it also comes in how we break down the barriers before us.
The next lesson I learned came from the projects and my teammates themselves. My wonderful teammates, Brenald, Kaitlyn, Sana, and Mwayi are working alongside me on two devices that are to help prevent infections in public spaces in Malawi. One is a walk-through decontamination unit. The other one is a touch-free hand sanitizer dispenser.
Check out some of these concepts of decontamination units!
As someone dedicated to establish initiatives in public health, I foresee how important it is to implement these devices in public spaces. The availability of user-friendly disinfection devices is paramount especially with the circumstances surrounding COVID-19. What’s even more important is that they are scaled up easily, and cost effectively for production soon. I am not going to lie when I say that I am nervous about being entrusted to innovate on these devices. As a non-engineering major, I always fear that I don’t have enough technical skill or knowledge to tackle designs involving electronic or mechanical components. I do however have a very supportive team and TA’s who support me in discovering how I can contribute my skills. Also, it’s just been super cool to be learning the more technical elements of design. Overall, I have surprised myself at how I have been able to develop questions and brainstorm on the designs themselves. Again, thanks to my TA’s, teammates and also the faculty mentors for guiding me and providing encouragement for me to quell my anxieties about contributing as a non-engineer. I have learned (lesson #2) how to really approach a problem from different angles than I am used to while still applying the same basic principles that I generally use when evaluating social issues.
Week one has been a great adventure. Diving right into the design process is helping me understand that the possibilities for our prototypes are endless. I think this also applies to a lot of the more abstract problems our world continues to face. The ways to combat COVID-19 itself could come in many forms and require many different people to come together from varying angles and areas of expertise.
I look forward to the week ahead and cannot wait for how my team and I will grow!
–Krystal