If you are a DoD (or IC) affiliate, and you’re interested in assisting DS4D @ USM by submitting a problem for our students to solve, we encourage you to get in touch!
We have tackled problems ranging from process issues to technical challenges, but our students excel at,
- Training issues
- Process problems
- Identifying existing technical solutions
- Technology integration processes
The Role of a Problem Sponsor
Once a problem has been submitted and chosen by a group of students, the Sponsor (or their designee) serves as the primary contact for the team addressing the challenge. This means they help open doors to students for additional contacts, provide direct information about the issue as they experience it (through being interviewed by the student team), and help evaluate potential solutions developed by the students over the course of their semester. This is an active role, with regular communication with the Team, so that the Sponsor is never out of the loop of solution development.
Sponsors are not, however, expected (or allowed) to dictate solutions to students. Through the process of executing on the DS4D Canvas, student groups develop a solution (or series of solutions) that address the problems from a variety of perspectives, of which the Sponsor is the most heavily weighted. This allows for underlying issues, not necessarily visible at the start of a project, to be addressed as well as the stated challenges.
