The FutureLab was conceived in partnership between Accelerate, Wentworth Innovation + Entrepreneurship Center and the Architecture Department.
It is a unique experience for co-op students [Innovation Fellows] to turn the current COVID-19 crisis into an innovation opportunity and to create insights and future thinking that could inform a variety of industries as more disruptions through pandemics and climate changes are expected over our lifetimes.
The COVID-19 pandemic is having an enormous impact on the world and has introduced new norms to how we work, educate, and live in a very short period of time. Experts predict that pandemics and climate change will continue to disrupt our lives in the future.
This pandemic illustrates that we can no longer ignore urban and environmental issues and instead use them as an opportunity to look ahead, develop thought leadership, ideas, and future orientation for thoughtful discourse and dialog across a variety of disciplines.
For 13 weeks and operating in teams, the fellows will define new problems, apply different models, and produce concepts, ideas and suggested implementations. Innovation Fellows will interact with professionals from industry, community, and government organizations across disciplines and from Boston’s ecosystem.
Staff and faculty mentors will guide each team and ensure interdisciplinary inspiration and encourage innovation and problem solving. Fellows will also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in future scenarios planning, creative innovation methodologies and team development strategies in a virtual environment while strengthening their employability well beyond their discipline knowledge.
A significant outcome of the Future Lab will be a digital publication with insights uncovered by each team that will be distributed to Wentworth Co-op employers, alumni and the larger Boston community and showcase Fellows future thinking and thought leadership
Fellows can select a theme among the following three choices: [1] Future of Cities, [2] Reinventing Spaces, [3] Impact & Society.