Overview
The Digital Problem-Solving Initiative (DPSI) at Harvard University brings together a diverse group of learners (students, faculty, fellows, and staff) to work on projects to address problems and opportunities across the university. DPSI offers participants a novel opportunity to enhance and cultivate competency in various digital literacies as teams engage with research, design, and policy relating to the digital world. In addition to a rich, networked learning environment and an emerging community of practice, the program will offer students and and mentors a unique opportunity to invent, build, and shape the increasingly digital environment in which they live, learn, work, and create.
2014-2015: DPSI 2.0
Over the course of the fall semester, DPSI teams will work on projects based in and around the Harvard community, using design thinking and other forms of creative problem solving to produce concrete solutions. Documentation by project teams will be be found on the teams tab and on the main blog, and teams will present at a Fall Review. In the spring, DPSI will host a number of speakers, skill-based workshops, and hackathons, all of which will culminate in a DPSI fair.
Non-students: if you are interested in being involved with DPSI, click here!
We are currently looking for Harvard students to apply to be part of DPSI 2.0. Participants will be asked to commit 6-8 hours per week. Students: find out how to apply here !
Guiding Principles
1. Promote Multi-Directional Mentorship and Learning
In promoting a community of practice, DPSI encourages learners of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences to learn from one another. Students can teach, as well as learn from, their co-participants, including other students, staff, faculty, and fellows at Harvard University.
2. Pursue Institutional and Issue Diversity Through Interdisciplinary Work
Outreach to diverse groups will ensure that DPSI incorporates various approaches to and perspectives on digital problem-solving. Teams consist of members of various fields, schools, and positions within the University, fostering critical and imaginative engagement with individual projects while building bridges across institutional units and among individuals.
3. Encourage Fluency in Digital Literacies
In today’s world, it is increasingly important for learners to become fluent in various digital literacies, in order to fully participate in society. To that end, DPSI seeks to foster digital fluency, exposure, and skillbuilding for students and community members.