Nearing the end of their academic journey, the Northeastern students found themselves in a conference room with leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority — the provider of public transportation throughout Greater Boston. The students had spent months investigating problems and devising potential solutions around the nation’s oldest subway system. Now their work was being put to a real-world test at MBTA headquarters in a meeting with nine officers, directors and managers who are responsible for everything from safety to engineering to technology and stations and fares.
“I came away really appreciating the ability to talk to decision-makers,” said Rachel Hocker, who is studying business administration and political science. “Seeing the inside workings of how these ideas could be implemented was an amazing experience. I left the meeting very energized and excited to hopefully work in a similar area outside of college.”The idea was to provide an experiential opportunity based on design thinking, said Stephen Golden, associate teaching professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Northeastern, who was leading this aspect of the course “Innovation!”
