This initiative was started in Product Design & Innovation Studio 6, as a study on organizational design and application of social theories. We decided to study social engagement as a subject on RPI’s campus, and researched environments and scenarios of social interaction. We chose social engagement at RPI as an area of study based on discontent from many of our friends with RPI’s social environment. We sought out to research why students were unhappy, and pain points to act on. 

 

From this research, we developed and tested what would create an ideal social environment on campus. We tested these theories with an event titled “Study Break at the Pub” where students could take a break from Sunday night studying to enter a relaxing environment that facilitates conversation. Future steps include creating a social platform in the pub titled “take a study break” where different groups of students can host low cost activities open to all RPI students.