Working in interdisciplinary teams with real-world clients is a learning experience many students value. Students in the School of Emerging Media and Technology鈥檚 (EMAT) Interdisciplinary Projects course are having a helping hand in making a local community safer.
During the Fall 2023 Interdisciplinary Projects course, students worked closely with the City of Hudson to develop a tool that could gather the various needs of all community members to prepare emergency responders before arriving at the scene. Students decided to title this tool 鈥淪AFER,鈥 which stands for Safety Awareness for Emergency Responders.
EMAT Director Michael Beam, Ph.D., a Hudson resident and member of Leadership Hudson, shared how the idea for this project came from an identified community need expressed by emergency services. Once everyone was on board, Leadership Hudson began discussing the components of the project, which included creating the infrastructure for people to disclose this information and a communication campaign.
鈥淲e knew that in the School of Emerging Media and Technology, our students have a strong interest in interdisciplinary skills as they relate to user experience, data management and creating forms, which in the past we had worked in our undergraduate capstone course Interdisciplinary Projects,鈥 he said.
Throughout the semester, students worked closely with Hudson Police and EMS to develop the form, make revisions and conduct user testing. One of the EMAT students working on the project James Parsons, 鈥24, decided to pursue an internship with IdeaBase to continue the work of this project for implementation this spring.
IdeaBase is a 麻豆影院 State student-powered design agency tackling real-world client problems relating to user experience, graphic design, web development, photography and videography. IdeaBase also aids in facilitating student internships and classroom collaboration projects, such as the SAFER Hudson project, by removing barriers for faculty and students and teaching them how to manage the project. In the Spring 2024 semester, IdeaBase facilitated another partnership with Hudson for Visual Communication Design students to design a new city flag.
鈥淭he Hudson flag project continues to build on the strong relationship we have with the city and demonstrates how vital the university is as a community partner in the area and how much design is woven into so many aspects of our lives,鈥 Daniel Alenquer, Director of the School of Visual Communication Design, said.
While IdeaBase is evolving into facilitating more classroom project collaborations, Director of IdeaBase Kristin Dowling shared how IdeaBase鈥檚 goal has always been for student to have impactful client-based learning opportunities.
鈥淭he goal for IdeaBase has always been for students to have positive experiences and good learning outcomes,鈥 she said.
For James, his positive experience working on the creation and implementation of this project has been incredibly meaningful and allowed him to discover a deeper passion he has for digital accessibility.
鈥淭his project really helped me discover that passion for digital accessibility, which is kind of exciting鈥hen you discover a purpose on how you can contribute to the world in a very meaningful way, that鈥檚 an exciting feeling,鈥 he said.
For Hudson community members, this project serves as a symbol of empowerment to take ownership of disclosing important health information about themselves or family members. Providing this additional information to emergency responders ahead of time can save precious time during an emergency.
鈥淲hen talking with the fire department and police department, they believe this project has the power to save a life,鈥 Beam said.
The SAFER Hudson project continues to strengthen CCI鈥檚 partnership with the City of Hudson, growing from a previous Interdisciplinary Projects course collaboration where students created a mobile streaming app for Hudson Community TV (HCTV). Students involved in the HCTV project were recognized by the city for their accomplishments.
Additionally, students involved with the SAFER Hudson project will soon be recognized by the city for their collaboration and outstanding work on creating a tool that will positively impact Hudson community members for many years to come.