Reflection – Learning Launch 

 Challenge and Selection 

 As a founding member of a university - based start - up , I took over some of the main engineering tasks   and was leading the team associated with them . The whole group was kind of disorganized and   everybody was looking so lost and confused . Most of the group ’s members did n’t even know how to   start and where to start from . The technical challenge was to design an electric racing automobile and   we sure had the skills to do so , but the real challenge was to ignite the spark , unite the teams , motivate   their members and actually innovate . 

 I could n’t waste a lot of time drawing and graphing etc . Therefore , visualization was not really an option .   I did n’t have any story to tell . My engineer brain oversimplified my thoughts around the challenge and   went on with actually testing and designing and testing again and designing again and so on , getting lost   in the abyss of technical analysis and testing . I was basically using the Learning Launch technique   without even realizing  My customers were my colleagues and their need was to unlock their   innovative skills and potential . I started thinking of the optimal way to find a solution to this early - stage   problem . 

 Application 

 In the beginning , I was kind of lost too , but took the initiative to put some more effort and at least start   with something . Then , I could work on it , put everything together and try to continue building around it .   The problem was that although we had the ideas and the technical skills , my colleagues seemed to be   not motivated enough . Something was missing . We wanted to do something really innovative but we   were not being creative enough . I thought I needed to do something about it as soon as possible . 

 I had to think of a way to do that and was searching for the most optimal and least time consuming   technique . At the same time , I had to continue with the engineering design so I immediately realized   what ’s better way to combine both . Why not show everybody what my thinking process is in regards to   the engineering work I am doing , so at least my colleagues get excited and start playing around with the   tools we had , as I did ! ! 

 My main task was to design part of the cooling system of the electric vehicles , the most significant being   the aluminum frame and the water cooling pipes around the electric motors . Different designs could be   found after research yet no optimal design was being suggested by the literature . With a top - down   approach I could sort out the most used ones and decided to start studying three of them . 

 For several days and nights , I would continuously think about the best decision . The clock was ticking   and the stress was increasing . My final decision was to design all three of them and show my colleagues   the process , criteria and parameters I used . At least , we could all sit down and decide what ’s best , all   together . At the same time , knowledge was gained and transferred amongst the members of all teams . 

 From design to simulation and back to designing the components again . Doing that several times for   each of the different designs can be painful , time - consuming but also lot of fun . My colleagues started 

 doing the same , following a similar approach , asking for feedback , trying to put the pieces to the puzzle .   Progress was being made , following with excitement and enthusiasm . Finally , the group would n’t feel so   useless and everybody started believing in the dream . We were sharing the same vision , a vision which   died soon and then , it was alive again . You see , sometimes , all it takes is a just little bit of light in the   tunnel , a little bit of spark to ignite the combustion . 

 Insight and Approach 

 What I ’ve learned through the process , especially in engineering and when it comes to innovation , is   that iterative testing can be a valuable means of transferring knowledge and bringing insight to the   team , also making its members feel purposeful and unstuck . In some way , it helps unlock part of our   brains specifically related to innovation and creativity . 

 Next time , I will try to incorporate this technique much sooner in the designing process , and introduce it   to my colleagues in the early stages of the organization and the building up of the teams . Thus , they will   have a great tool to use from the very beginning , which they can use to help them unlock their potential . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection – Learning Launch 

 Challenge and Selection 

 As a founding member of a university - based start - up , I took over some of the main engineering tasks   and was leading the team associated with them . The whole group was kind of disorganized and   everybody was looking so lost and confused . Most of the group ’s members did n’t even know how to   start and where to start from . The technical challenge was to design an electric racing automobile and   we sure had the skills to do so , but the real challenge was to ignite the spark , unite the teams , motivate   their members and actually innovate . 

 I could n’t waste a lot of time drawing and graphing etc . Therefore , visualization was not really an option .   I did n’t have any story to tell . My engineer brain oversimplified my thoughts around the challenge and   went on with actually testing and designing and testing again and designing again and so on , getting lost   in the abyss of technical analysis and testing . I was basically using the Learning Launch technique   without even realizing  My customers were my colleagues and their need was to unlock their   innovative skills and potential . I started thinking of the optimal way to find a solution to this early - stage   problem . 

 Application 

 In the beginning , I was kind of lost too , but took the initiative to put some more effort and at least start   with something . Then , I could work on it , put everything together and try to continue building around it .   The problem was that although we had the ideas and the technical skills , my colleagues seemed to be   not motivated enough . Something was missing . We wanted to do something really innovative but we   were not being creative enough . I thought I needed to do something about it as soon as possible . 

 I had to think of a way to do that and was searching for the most optimal and least time consuming   technique . At the same time , I had to continue with the engineering design so I immediately realized   what ’s better way to combine both . Why not show everybody what my thinking process is in regards to   the engineering work I am doing , so at least my colleagues get excited and start playing around with the   tools we had , as I did ! ! 

 My main task was to design part of the cooling system of the electric vehicles , the most significant being   the aluminum frame and the water cooling pipes around the electric motors . Different designs could be   found after research yet no optimal design was being suggested by the literature . With a top - down   approach I could sort out the most used ones and decided to start studying three of them . 

 For several days and nights , I would continuously think about the best decision . The clock was ticking   and the stress was increasing . My final decision was to design all three of them and show my colleagues   the process , criteria and parameters I used . At least , we could all sit down and decide what ’s best , all   together . At the same time , knowledge was gained and transferred amongst the members of all teams . 

 From design to simulation and back to designing the components again . Doing that several times for   each of the different designs can be painful , time - consuming but also lot of fun . My colleagues started 

 doing the same , following a similar approach , asking for feedback , trying to put the pieces to the puzzle .   Progress was being made , following with excitement and enthusiasm . Finally , the group would n’t feel so   useless and everybody started believing in the dream . We were sharing the same vision , a vision which   died soon and then , it was alive again . You see , sometimes , all it takes is a just little bit of light in the   tunnel , a little bit of spark to ignite the combustion . 

 Insight and Approach 

 What I ’ve learned through the process , especially in engineering and when it comes to innovation , is   that iterative testing can be a valuable means of transferring knowledge and bringing insight to the   team , also making its members feel purposeful and unstuck . In some way , it helps unlock part of our   brains specifically related to innovation and creativity . 

 Next time , I will try to incorporate this technique much sooner in the designing process , and introduce it   to my colleagues in the early stages of the organization and the building up of the teams . Thus , they will   have a great tool to use from the very beginning , which they can use to help them unlock their potential .
### Output: 