The Heart of Innovation: Human-Centered Design in Tech

by Juli Oberlander

While traditional science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs focus on technical and problem-solving skills, the Walter Scott, Jr. Scholarship Program (Scott Scholars) stands out due to its commitment to help students build empathy, understand human behavior and prioritize organizational needs.

For STEM students at UNO, Scott Scholars is the premier educational experience to increase their technical, creative and leadership skills. Established by the Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation in 1997, Scott Scholars provides undergraduate tuition, room and board and multi-disciplinary learning opportunities.

An important component of this program is the Scott Scholars Design Studio, where students help community organizations resolve challenges using human-centered design thinking, a problem-solving technique that involves understanding a client’s pain points, wants and needs as a part of the idea development process.

Harnoor Dhaliwal, associate executive director for Scott Scholars, says the internship prepares students for careers by developing their emotional and social competencies.

“We’re building those into this experience,” Dhaliwal says. “So that when they enter the workforce, they are a valuable member of whichever organization they join, not only because of the technical expertise they possess but because of the whole-person education they received.”

Community Action Projects allow Scott Scholars to collaborate with Omaha-area organizations to identify a problem, discover how the challenge affects people and brainstorm potential solutions. Using the five steps of design thinking — empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test — student teams select one solution to prototype and work with community partners to analyze the impact of the prototype in solving the problem.

Kaitlyn Baysa, a former Scott Scholar and current Design Studio program coordinator, says empathy-building is key. One of her favorite Scott Scholars projects is Sisters in STEM, an event that promotes STEM to young Omaha girls. After determining that elementary and middle school students needed more access to STEM opportunities, Scott Scholars created the event in partnership with Prairie STEM, an education-based nonprofit. Sisters in STEM has since spread to other areas, and Baysa says many girls have expressed interest in STEM careers as a result of the event.

“They [Scott Scholars] really set the foundation for it,” Baysa says, “and for other programs to build upon, which is really cool.”

Although Baysa provides guidance, Scott Scholars work in teams to facilitate community action projects. Baysa says the students’ leadership and collaborative skills set them apart as future workforce members.

“It’s very much led by the students,” said Baysa.

Currently, Scott Scholars are working with the University of Nebraska Medical Center Emergency Department to address language barriers between physicians and non-English speaking patients. Inspired by the video game Super Mario Maker, the students developed a similar drag-and-drop platform that uses graphics to explain the emergency room discharge process.

Esther Samuel, a Scott Scholar, says students collaborate with physicians to understand pain points, create empathy training and increase doctor-patient trust.

“It’s just a joy to meet with them because they’re excited about the project we’re working on, and we’re excited about it,” Samuel says. “It’s a great partnership.”

Dhaliwal says UNMC will implement the technology over the next few months and he foresees its potential to revolutionize patient care on a national scale.

“I couldn’t be more proud of all of the empathy work they did with patients and physicians to learn about this problem set, and these are the future leaders that healthcare needs,” Dhaliwal says.

To further the impact of Scott Scholars, the Suzanne & Walter Scott Foundation recently committed another $23 million to the program. At UNO, a $20 million pledge expands the capacity from a total of 128 students to 168 students. A $3 million pledge supports the program’s expansion at the University of Nebraska Medical Center where an inaugural class of 12 Scott Scholars began their first year of medical school in the fall of 2023.

As a pre-med student, Samuel says Scott Scholars has been instrumental in shaping her academic and professional trajectory. Beyond financial support, the program offers personalized mentorship and career guidance, paving the way for her success.

She says the program even helped her obtain a job at the UNO Health Careers Resource Center.

“That constant and consistent checking in on students is really helpful to keep us on track on what we want with our lives and how we want to enter our careers,” Samuel says. “I think all of that has prepared me for my future.”

Dhaliwal says Scott Scholars seeks to offer a first-class STEM education nationally and internationally.

“I think we have an immense task ahead of us,” he says, “but one that we’re fully committed to achieving so that we can realize that goal of being the gold standard, the most prestigious and successful STEM scholarship program in the country.”