Program gives students experience in team building and problem-solving

Thanks to a program in Rice’s School of Social Sciences, students are getting real-world experience in team building, problem-solving and networking.

Launched in fall 2015, the Social Sciences Applied Innovation Lab (SSAIL), part of the School of Social Sciences Gateway program, allows students to learn the elements of problem-solving in a business or nonprofit environment. Project teams interact with organizations seeking creative solutions to challenges they face. The three-credit semesterlong course offers experiential learning on all project phases — from investigation and analysis to presentation of recommendations to meet real-world needs.

“We knew from planning stages that there was student interest in this kind of program in the social sciences,” said Alex Wyatt, assistant director of Gateway. “We are so glad to see that with support from alumni, program faculty and the Houston community, student interest has grown so much faster than expected.”

This semester, five small groups of students participated in projects for Christus Health and Firestarter, Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services, the H.E. Butt Family Foundation, the Houston Urban Debate League and the Houston Museum District Association.

Margaret Snyder Tellegen ’74 is a member of the board of directors for the Houston Urban Debate League, which is dedicated to reintroducing academic debate programs in Houston-area public schools. She said the organization has long sought a way to track how debate has impacted students. The Rice student team designed and conducted a participant survey focusing on how debate has assisted the students in their current lives and future goals. In addition, the Rice students recommended changes to improve student participation outcomes.

“The data will prove invaluable to us in furthering our mission by providing concrete examples of the various ways that debate positively affected our students,” Tellegen said. She also noted that the Rice students recommended changes to the organization’s mentorship program and also made suggestions for fundraising.

“(The Rice students) interacted very well with our students and were a pleasure to meet and work with,” Tellegen said. “They were always organized and communicated very well. I have seldom seen a group that is so clear in their goals and works so well to accomplish them.”

Meghana Gaur, a Lovett College sophomore majoring in mathematical economic analysis, participated in the project with the Houston Urban Debate League.

“I joined SSAIL because I wanted to gain exposure to the practical applications of a social sciences major,” she said. “I especially appreciated the real-life and hands-on approach of a project-based class. So often social science majors see our STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) friends easily finding labs or research positions, but through Gateway programs such as SSAIL, opportunities are opening up for students across majors to explore career paths and gain exposure to fields like consulting.”

Gaur said that one of her most meaningful experiences in SSAIL was the chance to gain exposure to a field to which she had not been previously exposed – consulting.

“Although my current career plan is to eventually attend law school, the program has opened my eyes to a whole new field of options,” she said. “The skills necessary for consulting are valuable to any professional field, especially in terms of communication in a business or professional setting.”

Elizabeth Orton is senior director of operations and administration for the Asia Society Texas Center, a member of the Houston Museum District Association, which includes the 18 museums within a 1.5-mile radius of Mecom Fountain and is charged with promoting visits to these museums. She retained Rice students to research the viability of merging the health care plans of all 18 member museums and recommended a course of action.

“The students were able to identify key questions that needed to be answered in order to move our project in the right direction,” Orton said. “They were able to identify partners and resources in the community to find the right answers to the questions and positively impact the project’s development. The students then compiled the information and presented it in a way that was clear and provided definite answers to our project’s objectives.”

Orton said that watching the students think through the same issue that her organization had tackled and seeing the different way they approached it was exciting.

“They were each very talented and skilled in their approach,” Orton said. “Together they found the right balance of data, research, thought and communication.”

Orton said that although the project did not yield positive feedback on the original concept for finding a way to improve employee health benefits while saving on costs, it did provide clarity about the issue, identified alternative solutions and offered new ways to approach future projects.

Farah Imtiaz, a Sid Richardson College senior studying economics, participated in the project with the Houston Museum District Association. She became involved with SSAIL to gain real-world experience and to make a meaningful impact on Houston prior to graduation.

“SSAIL has been one of my most meaningful experiences at Rice,” Imtiaz said. “While many courses strive to incorporate relevant real-world applications, few have been so direct in application and tangible in impact. The SSAIL process has allowed me to hone both the hard and soft skills of full-project management vital to my future career: critical problem-solving, data analysis, written correspondence, client relationships and particularly teamwork and leadership.”

Imtiaz said that the support from Rice and the Greater Houston community was very encouraging as she and her fellow SSAIL students worked on their respective projects.

“People have been more than willing to provide advice and answer any questions we’ve had,” she said. “In that way, the project has really helped me appreciate the networks available to us as Rice students.”

Imtiaz said that the array of projects to work on through the SSAIL program makes it not only a valuable opportunity for anyone interested in consulting, but for anyone in any discipline involving general problem-solving or team-oriented processes.

“Gateway has given us a very unique opportunity,” she said.

Students interested in participating in the fall 2016 cohort of the SSAIL program may apply at http://goo.gl/forms/Pm6XCBxZKg. A Google account is required to access the form. The deadline for applications is July 1. Project sponsors interested in participating in future semesters may contact Alex Wyatt at alex.wyatt@rice.edu.

For more information on SSAIL, visit https://socialsciencesgateway.rice.edu/SSAIL/.