The InventOR Collegiate Challenge is a prototyping competition aimed at attracting Oregon college/university students from all disciplines and providing them with the resources to bring a concept from idea to reality while learning the fundamentals of commercialization.

Design Thinking is the first of a three-part series of webinars to help student teams prepare for the InventOR Collegiate Challenge, during this webinar you will learn about Human Centered design and how to research, plan, sketch, and validate an idea prior to starting prototyping. You are not required to compete in the InventOR Collegiate Challenge, but we hope that all students taking this course will consider submitting their prototypes for consideration in the competition.

Schedule:

- October 2nd: Introduction to Design Thinking & Process = project need-finding & getting started properly.

- October 16th: Empathic Research = contextual & discovery research strategy & execution

- October 30th: Need Definition = describing what you are solving with the 6 Ws

- November 13th: Ideation = brainstorming ideas & concepts with idea-sketching & sketch-noting

- November 27th: Prototyping = making mockups & simulations of your concepts & ideas

- December 11th: Testing & Refinement = testing your simulations with real people & refining your solution

Who should participate:

Any Oregon college/university student looking to prototype an idea or invention of a physical product.

Terms of Participation Agreement:

It is our job to provide you with an incredible networking and learning opportunity. Our intention is that you will learn the fundamental steps in how to design, prototype, and commercialize your idea or invention. The webinar is intended to be a collaborative forum for sharing, learning, building, and having fun. In order for us to provide you with the best learning experience, you are committing to attend all the dates in this webinar series.

About InventOR: The InventOR Collegiate Challenge is a prototyping competition aimed at attracting Oregon college/university students from all disciplines and provide them with the resources to bring a concept from idea to reality while learning the fundamentals of commercialization.

The InventOR Collegiate Challenge is designed to increase the number of inventors and entrepreneurs across the state, InventOR challenges the winners from preliminary campus and regional competitions to compete for $25,000 in prizes. Projects showcase solutions to important social and economic challenges across the state, including pressing community needs experienced in Oregon’s urban and rural regions.