December 5, 2013

Our new Interdisciplinary Smart Initiatives (INSI) Minor has been approved and will offer students from across the University experiences arising from multi-disciplinary practices and learning that are rooted in the urban environment. In the minor, students will develop  skill-sets and knowledge related to green technology, innovative thinking, problem solving, research, and leadership within the urban setting through collaborative teaching and coursework. The Drexel Smart House will provide opportunities to function in synergy with the INSI Minor in order to engage the possibilities of placing students on the leading edge of their chosen paths.  

The INSI minor will require the completion of seven courses (25 credits), 16 credits of which are satisfied by the four new required courses of the INSI core curriculum; and nine credits are satisfied by electives in the student’s major, or in relevant coursework.  The minor will be open to all students and allow flexibility in the later stages in both the content and scheduling to support the rigor associated with various majors. 

The minor proposal was created as an interdisciplinary collaboration headed by Diana Nicholas with Rena Cumby, both from the Department of Architecture & Interiors, along with Joan Weiner from Drexel’s Lebow School of Business, and Shivanthi Anandan from COAS' Biology, who, along with Professor Nicholas, runs the Drexel Smart Initiatives Programs. 

As part of the first course in the minor, a special topics course being offered this Fall has allowed students to visit with Youngmoo Kim and Genevieve Dion at the ExCITe Center; Biomedical Engineering Professor Uri Hershberg; Architecture & Interiors Professor Nicole Koltick from the Design Futures Lab; Biology Professor Dr. Shivanthi Anandan; Business Professors Drs. Joan Weiner and Robert Keidel; Engineering Professor Dr. Jim Mitchell; and Product Design Professor Mike Glaser. These visits centered around collaboration and problem solving with a focus on novelty and innovation.  

For more information on this new minor please contact Dee Nicholas: dsn35@drexel.edu