Enroll now in BUSI 4117 Developing Creative Thinking for the 2024-25 academic year.
BUSI 4117 is a full-year, one-credit course in which you work in close partnership with members of a remote community, and participate in a field trip to that community. Depending on the stream that you choose, you will either: a) work on solutions to a problem that you define in concert with your partner and community members, or b) develop and execute a curriculum with local youth.
The course will include a field trip of between 10 days and two weeks, depending on your community.
In this section, you will be part of our cohort to go to the Maasai district of Longido, Tanzania to work on various projects. Planned projects for the coming year include continuation of projects initiated this year, including testing saffron as a cash crop, a community charcoal making site, and a cultural tourism operation geared towards entrepreneurial opportunities for local women. There will also be all-new projects that course members will work on in partnership with Industrial Design students.
In this section, you'll be working with varsity student-athletes and students from Industrial Design to design and build sport and recreation facilities, while also making and providing coaching and wellness programs. Courts for Change has positive benefits on the community through the increased developmental and community building aspects of sport, creating a space where the opportunities for play can thrive. Past students have travelled to Longido, Tanzania and Masset in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia and Mayo, Yukon to co-create sport and wellness programs for community youth.
In this section, you will engage in research and co-design with members of one of two northern communities: Mayo, Yukon and Masset, Haida Gwaii. Planned projects include continuing with a skateboard entrepreneurship project initiated this year with high school youth; an app for a self-guided cultural, historical, commercial, and geographic tour for both communities, also with high school youth; a business plan for and testing of holopresence technology we have acquired for pedagogical and other applications (for an example, see https://arhtmedia.com); and other new projects in partnership with students in Industrial Design that include food sovereignty and physical village renewal.
As part of the course, you will engage in fundraising efforts during the Fall term to offset the costs of the field trips. The fundraising effort revolves around Giving Tuesday on Carleton’s FutureFunder platform, which provides an opportunity to leverage contributions through matching funds. Your out-of-pocket expenses will depend on fundraising success.
In addition to the course prerequisites listed in the Undergraduate Calendar, registration in BUSI 4117 requires Departmental Permission and an Overall 8.00 CGPA.
Please attempt to register in the course, fill our the application form below and then submit a Registration Override Request on Carleton Central to request permission. Note that there are a limited number of spaces in the course.
If you have any questions about your eligibility or if you are unsure about whether you meet the registration criteria, please contact Professor Rob Smart.