Over the years, I have partnered with several local activist, nonprofit and government organizations to design “service learning” projects for my students, both undergraduate and graduate. Below, I describe some of these collaborations. If you are interested in partnering with a class on a communication-related project or problem (see samples below!), please do not hesitate to contact me at rahul.mitra@wayne.edu.
Science communication animation videos for NIEHS-funded CLEAR. Students in the capstone class for the Communication Studies major (COM 5900) partnered with Wayne State University’s Superfund Research Center, the Center for Leadership in Environmental Awareness and Research (CLEAR), funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health. Over two semesters, student teams created a series of story-driven animation videos, featuring a fictional character called “Suzie the Scientist,” to convey the environmental health risks of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) to Detroit residents, and the research CLEAR is undertaking to mitigate these risks. The full video series can be viewed here.
Op-Ed Essays, Video “Success Stories” and Promotional Material for Healing Our Waters Coalition/Michigan Sierra Club. Students in the capstone class for the Communication Studies major (COM 5900) partnered with Michigan Sierra Club to craft four opinion-editorial essays, two videos (one short and one long), and plans for a social media campaign that could be used to further the mission of the Healing Our Waters: Great Lakes Coalition.
Info-graphic series for Peoples’ Water Board Coalition. Students in the capstone class for the Communication Studies major (COM 5900) partnered with Detroit-based activist organization, the Peoples’ Water Board Coalition, to design a series of infographics to counter prevalent myths about water shutoffs to poor residents. The infographics used “Did you know?” and “Myths/Facts” designs to get the point across and share credible research.
White Paper for Wayne State University Innovation Studio. Students in the ethnographic research methods graduate seminar (COM 7365) partnered with Wayne State University’s Steering Committee on Innovation & Entrepreneurship to conduct a user experience (UX) study on the newly opened Innovation Studio, meant to facilitate student entrepreneurship training. They conducted participant observations, textual analysis, and both in-depth and ethnographic interviews with WSU stakeholders and students.
Research for Detroit Water Stories Oral History Project. Students in the capstone class for the Communication Studies major (COM 5900) and graduate seminar on interviewing (COM 7340) gathered and helped analyze short interviews with Metro Detroit residents on their perceptions regarding the 2013-2020 mass water shutoffs in the city. The data was used for an award-winning publication.
Promotional Videos for The Green Garage. Students in the capstone class for the Communication Studies major (COM 5900) partnered with The Green Garage to create promotional videos that highlighted community engagement events at the site as well as various “green entrepreneurs” based out of the Green Garage.
White Paper for Wayne State University Office of Campus Sustainability. Students in the organizational communication graduate seminar (COM 6250) partnered with Wayne State University’s Office of Campus Sustainability to examine how its various initiatives around food, energy, built environment, and recycling were perceived by internal and external stakeholders, including WSU students, using in-depth interviews and analysis of key texts.
Leadership Impact Assessment for TechTown Detroit. Students in the leadership communication class (COM 4500) partnered with TechTown Detroit to assess how its entrepreneurial support programs helped foster leadership skills among local small business founders. The students engaged with staff at TechTown as well as entrepreneurs on the ground to examine issues such as leadership culture, small group communication, and vision.
Rahul Mitra 