Course CPP494: Coding for a Social Good

A15-week course to research, design and test a service-oriented application aimed at reducing the burdens for individuals experiencing homelessness. Divided into seven teams, the students are able to use their unique and shared experiences to work together to create solutions.

Instructors developed a buildability framework to help students guide and evaluate their ideas. The five-step process uses a “go or no-go” decision matrix in which students identify opportunities for impact and research their assumptions, mobilize resources to understand the capacity for change, ideate solutions and then test for feasibility. (Apple CI (swift coding) initiative grant, 3 units of the initial grant - governed UTO - unusual, getting capital and grants, creates oppurtunties) Two professors (design thinking and lean entrepreneurship - to design an app - teach people how to code) Social buildability - meeting with community partners for a bigger community issue (community identified assumptions and oppurtunity) - Given mac computer for semester.