FYAP 102A.  First-Year Seminar: Introduction to Technology and Innovation   (3).

General education social and behavioral sciences course. Uses instruction and hands-on projects to guide first-year freshmen through the design thinking process to develop innovative and creative problem-solving skills. The design thinking process is a methodology for innovation that combines creative and analytical approaches and requires collaboration across disciplines and diverse backgrounds. It focuses on empathy as a way to understand the user and design to meet their needs. Students work in multi-disciplinary teams throughout the course. In the final project, students apply design thinking to build a working prototype that addresses a specific identified need in the community, third-world country or society at large. First-Year Seminars do not meet a divisional requirement in the pre-Fall 2024 WSU General Education program, and can only be used in Bucket 7 for General Education starting Fall 2024. Course includes diversity content.

FYAP 102B.  First Year Seminar: Innovations of World War II   (3).

General education humanities course. The women and men of WWII banded together to create one of the biggest innovation/invention booms of our time, but how did they pull it off? Class examines many of the inventions that are still in use today — radar, penicillin, the precursors to Bluetooth and WiFi, and more — and their impact on modern society. Students learn about specific inventors, top secret laboratories, learn from failed inventions, and see Wichita’s contribution to the war effort. Helps students learn how they can use the same teamwork skills, courage and other traits to fight their own battles, whether personal or in a war yet to come. First-Year Seminars do not meet a divisional requirement in the pre-Fall 2024 WSU General Education program, and can only be used in Bucket 7 for General Education starting Fall 2024.