Experiential Learning Opportunities for Students Across the U Starts at ME

Ibraheem Badejo is very familiar with the University of Minnesota’s biomedical engineering program and aware of its credibility among academic institutions across the country. Badejo, a senior research and development (R&D) director for external front end innovation at ETHICON, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech company, is always on the lookout for new ways of working, like collaborations that can drive innovation. So when he learned about the University’s New Product Design and Business Development (NPDBD) program, he was inspired to learn more. 

Badejo first reached out to the University’s Corporate Engagement Center and was connected with Will Durfee, professor and director of design education in the College of Science and Engineering (CSE), who co-directs the NPDBD program with Dan Forbes, professor in the Carlson School of Management. They identified some mutual opportunities and assembled a team of top students from CSE, the Carlson School, the College of Design, and the Medical School to design a real-world challenge to explore the development of a new device for treating a circulatory system disorder.

Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor Durfee came to the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1993. His research and professional interests include the design of medical devices, rehabilitation engineering, exoskeletons and wearable robots, compact hydraulic systems, product design and design education. 

Read the complete story here: https://research.umn.edu/news/its-win-win