Student Design Lab

What is it?

The Student Design Lab is a program to connect high school students with industry partners—like Fox Chase.  Started in 2016 at William Tennent High School in Warminster, PA, the goal of the Student Design Lab (SDL) is to foster the development of the skills needed to be successful in the workforce of tomorrow.  The SDL is grounded on the belief that students should be empowered to create and generate new ideas in an authentic framework wherein they gain the transferable skills - collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, design thinking, and communication - they will need to succeed in today and tomorrow’s college and job market.

As an industry partner, Fox Chase has been proud to support and challenge high school students since 2018 in the SDL.  A description of past projects can be found below.

For an explanation of Student Design Lab from the creator (Mr. Ignacio Jayo), click HERE.

What is the process?

  • Students are given an authentic challenge by a Fox Chase professional
  • Students work with teacher mentors and innovation coaches to develop potential solutions to the given challenge
  • Students pitch potential solutions and receive iterative feedback from professional partners
  • Students share their ideas in a culminating conference

Previous projects

Beyond The Canvas

“Beyond The Canvas” is a program developed by William Tennent High School students in 2019 in collaboration with Fox Chase Cancer Center. This program connects student artists from William Tennent to cancer patients at Fox Chase in order to create a work of art inspired by the patients' individual journey.  During a 3 week program called senior experience, students interview, draft, and create a piece of artwork based off the individuals personal cancer journey.

Nursing Committee Board

During a visit to Fox Chase, students noticed that despite encouragement by the Center’s leadership to serve on committees, many nurses were not members due to confusion about the focus of each committee and how to join.  In order to alleviate this confusion and promote membership, the students designed a 3-piece poster board with information about how to join, the mission of each committee, and current projects.  Moreover, the boards were mobile and interactive featuring QR codes that allow for anyone with a smart phone to submit feedback and questions