Apeejay Stya University hosts Workshop on Humanistic Co-Design for Impactful Technological Innovation by Dr Kyle Kean from MIT

‘People-before-Problem’ approach towards manufacturing, designing and Engineering takes the centre stage
Gurgaon:With the intention to introduce a holistic socio-economic approach to designing and engineering technologies, Apeejay Stya University (ASU) recently hosted a special workshop titled ‘Humanistic Co-Design for Impactful Technological Innovation’ for its faculty members and students. Dr Kyle Michael Keane, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT), touched upon the importance of assistive technology for user-friendly customised designs models.
Through this workshop, Dr Kyle primarily wanted to highlight the significance of listening to the earnest grief and aspirations of others while designing tools that impact human lives on a daily basis.
The workshop started with a welcome address by ASU Vice-Chancellor, Dr S.K. Salwan, who demonstrated a presentation on ‘Nature is the Best Designer’ - explaining how the inspirations for the best designs in the world have been taken from nature itself.
“Impact that assistive technology can have in the lives of people with disabilities is immeasurable and I will continue to do my best to pull together resources for this cause. I'm especially called to advocate for the creation of tools to serve,” Dr Kyle asserted.
He further added, “Humanistic Co-Design is a topic close to my heart and I truly believe has the potential to nurture the goodness & aspirations of many engineers, makers, and designers.It is inspiring for me to see a group of educators so deeply committed to continual improvements in the educational experience of the students.”
The workshop further proceeded with groupassignments among faculty members and students to identify certain personalised problems along with finding solutions together.
Finally, a vote of thanks was given by Prof. Moinuddin, Advisory Board Member and Advisor, School of Engineering, ASU.
Dr Kyle teaches Computational Material Science, Human-Centered Design, and Engineering Technology that helps people with disabilities.