DSEL - the Design Sandbox for Engaged Learning - is a fluid collaboration and ideation space for students, faculty, community members and professionals-in-residence who seek to tackle the complex problems of our time — through the power of design thinking, ideation and rapid prototyping. The space is flexible and easily shaped to meet a range of uses in support of unleashing the creative potential
of entrepreneurs and scholars creating new knowledge in science, engineering, agriculture and technology. The cross-disciplinary problem-solving possibilities are limitless. Embedded at the land grant university in Montana, it leverages the exploding entrepreneurial start-up momentum in the state alongside leading scholars at Montana State University. It currently provides flexible classroom space for faculty using problem-based learning, active ideation and applied experimentation as the principal teaching pedagogy. Current courses include Innovative Ideation, Design Thinking for the Community and Piikani Digital Histories. Future plans include supporting professional residencies which bring new ideas to students through workshops and mentorships, and supporting executive training for companies interested in building design thinking and iterative problem-solving strategies into their own corporate culture.
