By: Arya Patel

I am very excited to be a part of a diverse and thoughtful team in OpenDesign+. The team dynamics and discussions have gone above and beyond my expectations.  I feel like everyone is passionate about the need for transformation in higher education, but at the same time are motivated and informed by very different experiences. The format in which we are learning, developing ideas, and brainstorming through open-source values is very transformative in the design process. We are integrating ideas and opinions from diverse students, professors, faculty, and staff from Duke and experts in education outside of Duke, in addition to both classic and cutting research and paper on innovative educational reform. 

Beyond the deep and broad exploration of the core of the topic at hand, OpenDesign+ has also given a lot of insight into design practices such as convergence and divergence. As a student, I am wired to constantly focus on convergence to whittle down ideas and bring them close to my reality. However, I am in awe of the value – and difficulty in practicing- divergence. Seeing beyond the societal and hierarchical norms that I am already very embedded in and thinking of ideas and concepts that once seemed far from my reality had provided me an opportunity to not only challenge my critical thinking and preconceived notions but also given us idealism as a tool for change. To  “think outside of the box,” we first must realize the box we are in, and then poke holes in it to let the light in from the outside.