Why choose UIndy and the DesignSpine experience?

The DesignSpine provides a unique framework to equip our students with technical and professional skills as well as an entrepreneurial mindset which are in very high demand in industry.

DesignSpine is a unique multidisciplinary experience that focuses on:

  • Creativity
  • Problem-solving
  • Critical thinking
  • Social responsibility
  • Communication
  • Organization
  • Project management
  • Industry-sourced Projects

Design, Image, Research, Plan & Create, Ask, Test & Evaluate

Key Components of DesignSpine

The DesignSpine curriculum emphasizes project-oriented courses with practical, hands-on experience and collaboration on real-world projects from your sophomore year through your senior year. The key components are:

  1. Multidisciplinary teams
  2. Open-ended real-life projects with industry clients and other external stakeholders
  3. DesignSpine SPREL (Six Sigma; project management; research; entrepreneurship/entrepreneurial mindset; and leadership and communication)

Watch this short video to learn more about the DesignSpine and how it is designed to develop modern engineering leaders who create outstanding solutions to current and future challenges that our world is facing.

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Hear what industry leaders have to say about the DesignSpine!

PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES WITH UINDY ENGINEERING

The R.B. Annis School of Engineering is continuously reviewing project ideas for each academic year for its DesignSpine courses. If you are an industry or community partner who has a project idea for our students, please visit our Project Opportunities page for additional information.

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Projects

water wagon

The water wagon, created by R.B. Annis School of Engineering students for Citizens Energy, is a fully functional water distribution system used at events where clean water is not readily available and to minimize the negative environmental impact of plastic bottled water.

water wagon

The water wagon, created by R.B. Annis School of Engineering students for Citizens Energy, is a fully functional water distribution system used at events where clean water is not readily available and to minimize the negative environmental impact of plastic bottled water.

Easterseals Crossroads

Students designed an assistive auto-cutter for Easterseals Crossroads Industrial Services.

Easterseals Crossroads

Students designed an assistive auto-cutter for Easterseals Crossroads Industrial Services.

Custom Orthosis

Students in the R.B. Annis School of Engineering worked with the School of Occupational Therapy on the custom wrist orthosis project, with the goal of reducing the surface area while still maintaining support for the patient’s wrist.

Custom Orthosis

Students in the R.B. Annis School of Engineering worked with the School of Occupational Therapy on the custom wrist orthosis project, with the goal of reducing the surface area while still maintaining support for the patient’s wrist.

Brugh Industrial Engineering Jukebox

Students collaborated with faculty to restore and modernize a 1948 World War Two-era jukebox for Brugh Industrial Engineering.

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Project Based Learning (PBL)

UIndy's Engineering Programs use PBL, a highly valued technique of learning. This method combines academic content with advanced skill development, such as collaboration, communication and critical thinking through rigorous, real-world class projects. PBL increases a student’s retention of materials through in-depth coursework and projects related to experiences that will be encountered in the field, thereby providing students with the opportunity to build a strong knowledge in engineering through exploration.

Watch video of DesignSpine project by R.B. Annis School of Engineering sophomore students with Citizens Energy Group.

Engineering Multidisciplinary Teams: computer, electrical, software, mechanical, general, computer science, industrial & systems engineering. Facilities and capabilities supporting collaboration in a realistic setting. Design projects combining theoretical and practical methods.

DesignSpine integration

This unique educational experience encourages students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset as they build innovation-driven product development skills and challenge themselves to improve and expand their knowledge.

ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPONENT OF DESIGNSPINE

The junior year of the DesignSpine sequence of courses is devoted to training students from the different engineering programs on developing the entrepreneurial mindset. Multidisciplinary engineering teams work on their ideas and products for nine months with mentors from industry and get to present their products and business model at an engineering business pitch competition. The R.B. Annis School of Engineering secured a $50,000 grant from the Elevate Nexus Higher Education Grant to support the entrepreneurial efforts of our students and to create a Center for Collaborative Innovation (CCI) to support entrepreneurial activities across the University of Indianapolis. Our students will be able to develop their entrepreneurial ideas further in the senior year and compete for over $200,000 from the Elevate Nexus Accelerator program.

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