Health + Innovation track Fung Fellows learned more about the design process through Dr. Rebecca Hope, CEO of YLabs, a research and design organization developing technologies and to amplify youth agency, power, and opportunity. Dr. Hope spoke on the importance of designing for digital equity. In this process, she walked through YLabs’ project on implementing a digital learning and self-care program to improve mental health literacy and awareness in youth, from its starting steps in research to current steps in implementation and evaluation. Through sharing her journey at the intersection of healthcare and design, students were able to not only learn more about design principles and methods, but were able to gain valuable insight in the space.

John Robert Robichaux, the Executive Director of the Fung Institute, discussed the impact of AI on healthcare with the Health + Innovation cohort. He highlighted significant ways that AI currently shapes healthcare, which he referred to as “3 Big Buckets.” This includes maximizing efficiency in the healthcare system to nurture doctor-patient relationships, predictions of pharmaceutical discovery, and integration of health and wellness through everyday activities (ie. fitbit, sensors, gaming eyewear to determine disease). With his inspiring talk, John challenged the Fung Fellows to ponder an important question — what will human-centered AI and ethical healthcare for the next generation look like?

As a part of the project kickoff, Fung Fellows in the Health + Innovation track had the opportunity to hear from Dan Gillette from The Change Lab at UC Berkeley School of Public Health, our partner organization for the second Design Challenge. Fellows learned about the importance of “wrap-around” services in supporting the physical and social health of elderly individuals and of existing services, like the PACE program, that allow elders to age-in-place.

The Conservation + Innovation track launches a seven-week design challenge to answer the question: “How might we co-create sustainable income opportunities that: (a) decrease human-based pressures on wildlife species; and (b) mitigate biodiversity loss as well as threats to human health and livelihoods?” Eight teams of fellows worked with Wildlife Conservation Network partners to create innovations around the globe from addressing gillnet fishing in Belize to supporting cheetah conservation in Botswana.

There is perhaps no bigger driver of change to natural ecosystems than agriculture. One detrimental practice is the use of waste-sourced materials in fertilizers. Our Conservation + Innovation fellows thus tackled the question, “How might we use technology to help farmers better understand the environmental impacts of fertilizers, and make more eco-friendly fertilizer choices?” in partnership with Save Our Soil, an Earth Island Institute sponsored project. Their multifaceted innovations included mock websites and phone apps, and even one working app prototype aimed to teach the next generation of farmers about environmentally friendly farming practices through interactive games. Our design challenge partner Patricia Martin, Executive Director of Save Our Soil, was impressed, saying, “The work put in by the students was incredible. There are some real possibilities that could help farming practices become greener and our food supply and environment become cleaner!”

Fung Fellows in the Health + Innovation track partnered with Kaiser Permanente and UCSF for their first Design Challenge of Fall 2020 to answer the question: How might we use telehealth to improve equity and access for patients and providers? As COVID-19 has expedited and expanded telehealth services, fellows first worked to synthesize what has already been tried and the lessons learned and then applied their insights for a more equitable future for healthcare, with increased access to quality care as the immediate crisis response to the pandemic subsides.

In partnership with Hopelab, Year 1 Fellows work in teams to tackle the question: “How might we reduce loneliness among college students?” In the following weeks, students engage in extensive customer engagement, understanding, and framing along with idea generation, prototyping, and user-testing.

To grow as leaders and professionals, Honors Fellows design and deliver lab sessions to the first year Fung Fellows throughout the year. Lab Leaders tackle topics ranging from how to win hackathons to design language and design language + implicit bias!

Purple Asparagus, an organization that educates children and communities about healthy eating for the body and environment, drives the second design challenge with the question: “How might we use technology and the Purple Asparagus program to improve childhood nutrition?”

Two Fung Fellows won the Stanford’s MedX Youth Changemakers Competition and are now developing their product to transform the transition from pediatric care to adult care. Read more details here

Our Community Judges Panel from Alameda County Public Health Department, Tiburcio Vasquez Clinic, and UC Berkeley Wallace Center give constructive feedback on sexual health education innovations as part of a design challenge on teen pregnancy.

Fung Fellows share about the new addition of the Fellowship to the Institute and demonstrate Blue Goji VR technology with guests.