Teaching innovation and sustainability through international interactive workshops

Thousands of pounds of electronic waste (e-waste) is disposed of worldwide in a polluting, unsafe manner every day. Gradual progress is being made to prevent this issue from worsening throughout the world. However, the problem of electronic waste (e-waste). disposal still significantly impacts Kenya. Kenya also faces difficulties with income and employment. In response to the e-waste disposal and economic issues in Kenya, a team from Penn State Berks decided to develop a way for Kenyans to resolve these problems to an extent through jewelry and craft making. An interdisciplinary team composed of two professors and four students, called Creative Minds, travelled to Kenya to conduct interactive workshops on increasing the awareness of sustainability, how to properly manage the disposal of e-waste, and encourage creativity. The workshops included a number of activities based in engineering and other design disciplines. After this initial travel to Kenya, two Kenyan students visited Penn State Berks. In addition, Penn State Berks' Creative Minds team received an award for having the best innovative solution in a highly esteemed showcase. This paper presents the experiences in this social entrepreneurship project.