008 - Office Hours with Professor Kiersten Muenchinger

For our first guest episode of the new year, the WID Seattle team digs into design education with Kiersten Muenchinger - Founder and Head of the Department of Product Design at University of Oregon. Kiersten’s path began with a mechanical engineering undergrad degree and ranged from blue sky R&D Imagineering to launching her own business in the Silicon Valley entrepreneurial boom before she realized how invested she was in education and took on the role of launching a new product design program. In our conversation, we discuss the merits of different levels of education and when to pursue them, how design programs could be more equitable and how knowing your work has purpose and value motivates students and professionals alike. More content at https://www.beyondraypodcast.com/