Meet June He, Recipient of the Inaugural Provost Award for Pedagogical Innovation

“With your fall 2023 course Aging, Design & Entrepreneurship, you worked with the Close School of Entrepreneurship and College of Nursing and Health Professions. Why did you take a multidisciplinary approach?

It helps students in many ways. For example, we went to the Health Sciences Building so students could use the VR simulation lab and it allowed them to experience how older adults live every day. Some students became very emotional from this VR experience because they began to realize people may not understand what it is like to live as an older adult. When students empathize with the way an older adult lives, they have strong emotions to draw from when they design to solve for everyday problems and emotional struggles. Working with Close School helps our students to further develop their innovative concepts into mature products.”

By Natalie Kostelni