Engagement in Practice: Scaling Community-based Design Experiences

For engineering community-engagement to realize its potential, a diverse set of models that can be scaled need to be developed and disseminated. The EPICS Program, founded at Purdue University, is a curricular approach that has proven to be scalable. EPICS involves undergraduates in the development, design, delivery and support of technology-based solutions to meet needs in the local and global communities. It co-develops and implements solutions with community partners using a human-centered design approach, actively engaging stakeholders in every stage. Since the creation of the program in 1995, over 400 projects have been delivered to a wide range of local and global community partners. This paper highlights strategies that have allowed EPICS to grow to over 1100 students from an average of 45 majors per year.