In This Classroom, Students Design for Sustainable Social Impact
Via Babson College
“Why are these orphans living in a dilapidated factory? What’s the difference between me and these kids? Why do these things happen?” These were the questions Stan Lee Tan ’19 asked himself as a fifth-grader after his dad’s job took their family to China. “My primary motivation is to solve for that inequality. Your outcome in life shouldn’t be determined by what country you were born in or what family you were born into.”
That motivation is what drew him to a course called Affordable Design and Entrepreneurship (ADE).
Founded in 2012 by Erik Noyes, associate professor of entrepreneurship at Babson College, and Benjamin Linder, associate professor of design and mechanical engineering at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, ADE is an international, experiential social entrepreneurship and design course. It aims to address challenges like air quality, child education, community development, food processing, and global health.
But unlike other business models that attempt to provide solutions for people, ADE designs solutions with people. This partnership between students and stakeholders living in the context of poverty allows for the co-creation of relevant and sustainable solutions.