通过服务拓展塑造社区

The 波利利恩研究所 at 365英国上市官网 has long been committed to fostering community engagement and service. Renowned for its expertise in Lean thinking and continuous improvement, 该研究所, which represents OU’s School of 教育及公共服务, 设计了一系列创新的外展计划, 创建一个协作学习平台, 在社区内的成长和有意义的影响.

Not only have these programs successfully engaged local high school students, but they have also reached into the broader community to support community service (non-profit) organizations. 

High school workshops are a staple of the 波利利恩研究所. “We bring high school students into our Lean Lab in the Engineering Center and provide an overview of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE),丹尼斯·韦德说, 波利·利恩研究所所长. “我们还完成了一个实践精益活动, visit the Augmented Reality Center and participate in a student-led campus tour.”

A student from Detroit Public Schools taking part in an exercise within the augmented reality center.

参加者可获免费午餐, 交通费也报销, 确保参与学校没有经济负担. This approach allows schools with limited budgets to join field trips without any financial constraints. 

“Here is an opportunity for a high school student to sit in a campus building, 与教授和大学生互动, 评估一个潜在的职业道路, 参观我们的校园,丹尼斯·波利说, 波利·利恩研究所的创始人. “This program has been visited by over 700 students since its inception. 它还得到了包括AT在内的商业伙伴的资助&T, 博世基金会, Comerica Bank, and 精益企业研究所.” 

The institute also runs paid community service Lean internships for students at OU, which have received funding from various organizations including AIC Equipment, AT&T, 博世基金会, 捷普电子, 精益企业研究所, 以及马克和宝拉·多曼基金会.

“This program is fairly unique where we place two students into a community service organization to complete a Lean project for the organization,韦德说。. “We assign a mentor from industry as well as a professor from OU to serve as a mentor for the students. The students work the project over a 10-week period and earn $2,500 for the semester.” 

To date, the program has completed 19 projects and paid out $95,000 to OU students.

“这对每个人来说都是双赢的，”波利说. “我们的学生获得了实际的精益经验, 带薪实习, 同时也对他们的简历进行了重大更新. The community service organization gets a completed project that makes them more efficient and our funders are connecting with the community in an extremely positive way.”

Two of these projects were in collaboration with Forgotten Harvest, a non-profit organization that distributes food to local charities in Metro-Detroit, ensuring that families in need have access to fresh and nutritious food. 

The initial project involved assisting Forgotten Harvest in establishing a client choice market, enabling families to directly shop for their groceries—a goal that was widely successful. 利用精益原则, students played a vital role in the design of the market as well as solving logistical challenges. 

“The students really were a great asset to us in starting this project,Kelli Kaschimer说, Director of Volunteer and Client Service at Forgotten Harvest. “I think it’s a great opportunity for them to understand what happens in the real world and some of the real challenges that are faced when you’re in a business or a non-profit.”

The second project was intended to design a process for a smaller food agency, enabling them to collect food from the Forgotten Harvest facility despite their size constraints. 再一次, students utilized Lean tools to create standardized processes for both the food agency (front end) and Forgotten Harvest (back end), 提高运作效率. 目前, discussions are underway between OU personnel and Forgotten Harvest regarding the potential use of 365英国上市官网 Pantry as a pilot site for the program. 

Wade further explained that in addition to the benefits reiterated by Dennis Pawley, students see the value of the contributions made by community service organizations. This emphasizes the 波利利恩研究所's commitment to its student mission of promoting Lean education alongside meaningful engagement in community service endeavors.

To learn more about the 波利利恩研究所 at 365英国上市官网, visit 奥克兰.edu/lean.