Design Studio
In Design Studio, we integrate agile engineering processes, lean business development, and interdisciplinary design thinking into an iterative process for problem solving and product development - our unique brand of innovation. Our iterative development methodologies lead to the development of robust software products that address real problems and provide elegant solutions. Throughout the process, Design Studio teams are mentored by industry professionals from the community, helping teams more effectively communicate, overcome technical challenges, and drive innovation for their partners.
As the capstone program in the Raikes School, Design Studio integrates concepts from our unique computer science and business curriculum, reinforcing core concepts through 4 semesters of hands on learning. Students gain a head start in their careers by participating in product development teams, working with real clients to understand complex business requirements, and developing innovative solutions to wicked problems. The studio model ensures that, prior to graduation, each student in the Raikes School has gained the valuable experience of participating in the full software product development life cycle - from inception of the concept to deployment for the solution.
Design Studio Annual Report
Endless Opportunity for Students
Create innovative applications and business processes to solve real-world problems
Gain valuable experience working with industry leaders in self-organizing teams
Develop a greater understanding of how business and computer science are used in companies
Work on a real software development project to develop strong project management skills prior to graduating
Form key networking contacts with top local and national companies.
Earn college credit while working with cutting edge technology to complete real software projects
Industry Partnerships
Design Studio serves as a connection point between academia and industry, creating a unique opportunity for our partners to engage some of the brightest minds on campus and leverage the value of a Big 10 research institution. Each year Design Studio engages industry partners who provide complex problems for which our student teams develop software solutions using industry best practices in software engineering and business development. This year, teams in Design Studio are completing the following projects:
| Sponsor | Project |
|---|---|
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Inventory Redistribution OptimizationDevelop a web application to analyze and optimize inventory distribution across stores, including data visualizations. |
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OpStat ModernizationExtend a web-based operations monitoring application to provide visualizations of time-series data using modern web technologies. |
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Conversational Interface for Interacting with InformationDesign, develop, and prototype the next generation voice interface allowing conversational interaction with financial data. |
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THRIVE Health Age AlgorithmUsing machine learning to better link humans to their health. |
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Hudl Ice HockeyTake a deep-dive to understand how ice hockey teams currently use Hudl, and design new tools specifically for teams to enable Hudl to dominate this new market. |
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Operational TrackingDevelop a system to analyze location and proximity data on farm assets to provide activity information for managing farm operations as well as strategic insights. |
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Standard Response Protocol ApplicationDesign a solution to initiate and deliver safety information among teachers and administrators in support of the Standard Response Protocol (SRP) emergency procedures. |
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Report GroupsLeverage existing financial reporting functionality in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations to implement storytelling elements through Sway. |
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Internet of ThingsLeverage Internet of things (IoT) data on health and activity to provide insights for current and potential customers. |
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Project Business StartupDesign a solution to solve a problem that students face while attending college; first phase will involve pitching ideas for what to solve, second phase will be determining and building the solution. |
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Market Definition ToolDevelop 'Geo' capabilities in the Market Insights consumer database tool, allowing healthcare organizations to better understand the populations they serve and boost the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. |
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Vendor VaultInvestigate and develop a vendor portal to facilitate communication with suppliers and store operational data that interacts with our existing internal systems. |
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Mutual Fund Share Class ConversionsDevelop a new process for mutual fund share class conversions, incorporating data from multiple manual systems and processes into a single workflow. |
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Online Agricultural Data Management SystemExtend the system started in 2016-17 Design Studio with tools to store, manage, benchmark, and analyze information using spatial data. |
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Erudite Digital Learning LabFurther refine and complete Erudite’s First Steps to Reading Fluency game prototype, which was developed in 2016-17 Design Studio. |
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INFEWS GameBuild the Agpocalypse 2050 educational video game, where players are tasked with creating sustainable agricultural systems that will feed and fuel the world with limited resources under a changing climate. |
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Vehicle Crash Data Analysis CubeBuild an internal business intelligence tool to analyze and visualize crash data available in the Nebraska Department of Transportation data warehouse. |
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Vehicle Crash Information PortalBuild a geospatial view for internal and external use that allow analysis of crash data by timeframe, area of interest, and severity, allowing quicker identification of safety improvement projects. |
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NET Grants ManagementReplace legacy application for managing grants. Create collaboration tools for Technical Reviewers and Board Members to record evaluations via the web. |
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Nutrition Sensor PlateDevelop and validate an instrumented plate called sensi-plate that can measure the quantity of food placed on the plate in four individual sections. |
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TeamMates Communication ApplicationDevelop an application for mentors and mentees to communicate quickly, while automatically including school facilitators for transparency and providing privacy for all parties. |
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Virtual Training System (VTS) for Meat CuttingThe primary scope of the project is to create a game based system to provide the end user the ability to learn the techniques in the hands-on nature of meat cutting without limitations of access to a lab space or a meat cutting lab. |
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Student Information SystemFourth and final project to complete the web-based student information system, including improving the scheduling component and preparing the system for transition to full client ownership at Westside. |
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Ad Hoc Reporting ToolBuild an ad hoc reporting tool so users can self-service their own reports, minimizing the need for report development and maintenance. |
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Exploring Virtual RealityThe team will design a rich, interactive virtual reality experience using HTC's Vive platform. |
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CubuloNIMBUSDesign an interface for testing new autonomy algorithms for a fleet of CubeSats nanosatellites, collecting and displaying data, and controlling the satellites. |
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Sound of CodeBuild a plug-in to help programmers "hear" their programs as they run, opening a new sensory perspective on development. |
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Mobile-based Food Recognition SystemDesign and develop a mobile-based (smartphone app) food recognition system for weight management, applying image processing algorithms to develop a novel food recognition framework based on machine learning techniques. |
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Unmanned Aerial Systems for Prescribed FiresBuild and integrate 3-5 small devices that can gather location, temperature, carbon dioxide, other environment information, and be resistant to temperatures in the vicinity of fire, and integrate the data from these devices into a single view. |
Industry Collaboration
Students in Design Studio learn not only from top practitioner faculty, but also from industry leading experts. Whether it is a local software executive who gives a guest lecture on enterprise architecture or a CEO who coaches a Design Studio team, students regularly interact with and learn from top industry professionals. Regular collaboration between faculty, students, and industry partners creates an ecosystem unique to Design Studio that drives innovation at all levels. Through that collaboration, students and their teams are making big things happen every day.
Students in Design Studio not only learn from industry leaders, they innovate with them. Every year our students are developing new concepts, sharing creative ideas, enriching our partner organizations, and becoming members of their team.