Interdisciplinary Certificate in Health Innovation

Certificate Overview

Currently, the healthcare sector is facing many large and complex challenges, such as stringent regulations, privacy concerns, and steeply rising costs. As networks of people and technology become more interconnected, healthcare organizations will need better tools and systems to solve health challenges at a larger scale. The COVID-19 pandemic in particular demonstrated that there is a strong need for better systems and information exchange.

Many leaders and healthcare professionals are now turning to human-centered innovations to find solutions to these and other challenges. Whether it’s new technology, treatments, or processes, human-centered health innovation will give healthcare organizations and clinicians the tools they need to focus more on the needs of the patients, improving their lives.

Purpose of the Interdisciplinary Certificate in Health Innovation:  The 9-credit interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate will deliver a cohesive set of courses relevant to health innovation.  Students will collaborate with campus units and/or organizations to develop innovative solutions to real-world problems around health. 

Key Learning Outcomes

• Gain a foundational and practical understanding of design thinking and human-centered design
• Understand the landscape and context of health innovation
• Demonstrate empathy with stakeholders to understand their needs
• Define problems and opportunities within a healthcare context
• Apply inclusive ideation techniques to develop innovative solutions to problems within healthcare
• Develop ethical prototypes of proposed solutions
• Understand how to gather meaningful feedback, using it to iterate on solutions
• Plan implementation of solutions, focusing on sustainability and evolution
• Practice applying design skills and knowledge through collaborative projects