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Design for Extremes: Prototyping for Better Futures

Design for Extremes is a two-day experiential workshop designed to take participants through the process of breaking down a complex problem, turning an idea into an actionable solution, and making a business model for it. This year's event theme is "Prototyping for Better Futures."

When: October 24 and 25, 2025
Where: Design Innovation Hub, Fellows Suite, Room 250
Registration Deadline: October 24, or when maximum capacity is reached

Ycenter two-day programs are truly immersive for participants to learn about Entrepreneurship, Complex Problem Solving and Human-centered design methodology. You will learn, ideate, build and explore new ways to solve real problems using the power of business. You do not need to have a team to participate in this event. Individual registrations are welcome.

Learn About Ycenter

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The Program

The entire workshop is delivered using Experiential Learning Pedagogy, which means as participants you will be engaging in hands-on activities rather than learning only theories. Get a chance to specifically work on your respective project ideas (if any) or pick a problem statement under the context of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Day 1: Friday, October 24

Day 2: Saturday, October 25

Time	Activity
9:00 - 9:30 AM	Registration & Icebreaker
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM	Complex problem breakdown using human-centered design
12:00 - 1:00 PM	Lunch Break
1:00 - 2:30 PM	Using empathy as a primary market research tool
2:30 - 3:30 PM	Secondary research and problem statement verification
3:30 - 4:30 PM	Creating a design brief and turning problem statements into opportunity statements
4:30 - 5:00 PM	Post-event hangout (optional)

Time	Activity
9:00 - 9:30 AM	Registration & debrief fro m Day 1
9:30 - 10:30 AM	Creative Thinking Activity 1
10:30 - 11:30 AM	Creative Thinking Activity 2
11:30 AM- 12:00 PM	Idea Final Selection
12:00 - 1:00 PM	Lunch Break
1:00 - 3:00 PM	Idea Prototyping
3:00 - 4:00 PM	Storytelling Pitch Technique
4:00 - 5:00 PM	Final Pitch Presentations, Feedback & Next Steps

Meet the Facilitators

Dhairya Pujara

Founder, CEO at Ycenter

Dhairya Pujara is the Founder, CEO at Ycenter. He has been a global public speaker with invitations from the United Nations, World Bank, World Economic Forum, Social Enterprise World Forum, SXSW, TEDx and top universities and organizations in 15+ countries across 4 continents. His work has been featured in magazines like Entrepreneur, INC, nominated for Forbes 30 under 30 and several other media publications like BBC radio, Huffington post, Philadelphia Business journal to name a few. He is a serial entrepreneur, working directly to support job creation, technology innovation ventures and for this work he has received a visa reserved for individuals of extraordinary abilities from the US immigration services.

J.R. Campbell

Executive Director, Design Innovation Initiative

J.R. Campbell serves as the executive director of the Design Innovation (DI) Initiative at Kent State University to support transition design thinking (human-centered design + design for change), challenge-based innovation, technology-infused maker communities and the curation of trans-disciplinary collaborative teams to tackle "wicked" problems. Campbell’s background is rich in textile arts and digital fabrication and transformation. Before joining Kent State, he led research for the Centre for Advanced Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art, where he worked on projects digitizing and reinterpreting historical textile designs. His extensive experience in both academic and practical aspects of design and innovation positions him as a key leader in driving the university’s goals for a cutting-edge, collaborative education for the future.

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