SGSI 2025: Elevate Her: A Sprint for Women's Health

COURSE CLOSED

• Full attendance is expected.
• Expect to spend about an hour a day outside of class.

Brief Course Overview

It’s time for a leap forward in women’s health innovation. In this intensive one-week sprint, graduate students will use design thinking to tackle pressing challenges in women’s health. Working in teams, participants will explore different dimensions of the field, guided by expert stakeholders and coaches. Using tools like rapid prototyping and iteration, students will discover how human-centered design can drive technical breakthroughs in research. More than just a course, this experience aims to inspire new perspectives, build a community of innovators, and spark lasting change in the way we approach women’s health.

Course Format

The course will be project and team-based and highly participatory. It will also include short lectures/discussions with guests and experts and group shareouts/reflections.

Intensity Level 🔥🔥

Audience

Audience: Open to incoming* and returning graduate students as well as postdoctoral scholars (if space allows). Postdoctoral scholars will be invited to apply during the rolling application period starting July 7th.

*MSx Class of 2026 and first year MBA students are ineligible to participate due to mandatory program requirements.

Detailed Course Description

Elevate Her: A Sprint for Women’s Health is a brand-new, one-week intensive course designed to spark innovation at the intersection of design, research, and women's health. From biomaterials to biomechanics and beyond, the challenges in this space are vast—but so are the opportunities. Using human-centered design methods, students will work in interdisciplinary teams to tackle pressing challenges in women’s health and performance.

Guided by expert stakeholders, renowned faculty, and experienced coaches from Stanford and the broader Bay Area, participants will explore real-world problems, generate creative solutions, and prototype innovative concepts. These mentors bring invaluable insights and support, enriching the learning experience and ensuring that participants are well-equipped to make impactful contributions.

This course is structured as an immersive design sprint, moving swiftly from problem discovery to ideation, prototyping, and final presentations or pitches. Students will engage in hands-on activities and iterative design exercises to build solutions that prioritize human impact and user experience.

Beyond the sprint itself, Elevate Her aims to foster a lasting innovation community on campus. By bringing together diverse perspectives from various disciplines, we hope to spark new collaborations, inspire entrepreneurial thinking, and motivate students to continue driving change in the realm of women’s health even after the course concludes.

No prior experience with design thinking is required—just a commitment to full participation, an openness to creative problem-solving, and a passion for making a tangible impact in women’s health. Join us to challenge your limits, expand your horizons, and contribute to meaningful advancements in this crucial field.

Objectives

By participating fully in this course, you will:

• Ignite creativity and empower a diverse group of innovators to tackle pressing women’s health challenges.
• Foster a vibrant and supportive community dedicated to elevating women's health.
• Learn essential design thinking tools and mindsets that can be applied in various fields.

Instructors

• Vivian Feig, assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering
• Hannah O'Day, research engineer, Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance