Breakthrough Innovation 

with Industry Projects 

Embrace Ambiguity.   Collaborate.  Work Globally.  

Design.  Prototype.  Iterate.

50 Years of Inventing the Future


For more than a half-century Stanford University's ME310 | Global Engineering Design Innovation (GEDI) course has focused on building solutions that anticipate the future. The course teaches Stanford's approach to technology development and user experience design for new products and systems that break new ground and uncover new market opportunities. As a part of this mission, the course imparts best practices for  global collaboration by requiring all teams to work in collaboration with international counterparts.

A Deeper Dive that Brings More Innovative and Credible Solutions

Unlike more limited design courses that develop a prototype or plan at the end of a semester, in ME310 graduate engineering teams -- at Stanford and at international partner institutions -- work for nine months to develop extensive new domain knowledge and numerous functional prototypes. They engineer solutions that consider design requirements, technology development, and deployment practicality. Often the information a team develops during its journey turns out to be more valuable than the final product a team produces.


A Global Experience that Reflects Modern Work Environments

Collaborating across international boundaries and cultural differences is hard. At the same time, global work is increasingly common, along with global markets. Students in ME310 learn to navigate the inherent challenges that come with a global perspective through the immersive nature of the course. They navigate relationships not only with international students, but also international coaches, sponsors, and faculty, all the while being coached on best practices by seasoned alumni in the Silicon Valley community.


Advanced Methods Derived from Design Innovation Research

The ME310 GEDI course has evolved over time, responding to Ph.D. research findings accrued through more than 30 years of studying high-performance design teams at Stanford's Center for Design Research's (CDR). Over the years, doctoral dissertations have established critical factors affecting team performance, including: the role of physical representations for abstract concepts, information handling and team behaviors, the importance of emotion within a team, and many others. Students and sponsors benefit from learning methods that were developed from these findings and are, as a result, at the forefront of modern design practice.

Projects can involve a diverse range of technologies and market opportunities. Student teams often tap experts in Silicon Valley and beyond to explore emerging options.

The EXPE Showcase

The energy and excitement is easy to see when teams demonstrate their work and let visitors experience their final prototypes at the EXPE public showcase at the end of the course in June.