Design and 'The Great British Bake Off'

EDI alumni returned to campus to talk with new students about a variety of topics, including how what they will learn in EDI compares — in part — to the reality television show.

“The Great British Bake Off,” the Paris Olympics, and the power of mentorship were three of more than a dozen topics recently discussed by alumni from Northwestern's Master of Science in Engineering Design Innovation (EDI) program.

EDI alumni from across the country came together to discuss their professional journeys, experiences in EDI, and other topics as part of Back to Camp(us), a featured component of the program's Camp EDI orientation for new students.

"You have to create the environment that you want to be successful in," said Jodi Schwartz (EDI '14), executive director and user experience design lead for lending innovation at JPMorgan Chase & Co. "You have to have confidence."

Schwartz delivered one of two keynote addresses. The second talk was given by Jeremy Fu (EDI '22), a mechanical design engineer at Rivian.

Schwartz spoke about the importance of connecting people with different backgrounds and varied skill sets to form strong teams. That ability is something she learned in EDI.

"You have to connect the dots," she said. "No one is going to say, 'Here's a team and here's what you're going to do.' That's not how you become a leader. EDI helped teach me how to be a leader."

Fu remembered sitting in the seats a few years ago where this year's new students sat. He said he was jealous of them because they now have the time to learn and make mistakes in the comfort of the EDI program. 

It's an experience he relished, and one he encouraged the new students not to waste.

"This is an incredibly supportive environment, so try new things and take big risks with your designs," he said. "Do things that are out of the box, test them out, and see if they work."

Throughout the day, the new EDI students had opportunities to talk with and learn from the alumni in attendance. In addition to the keynotes, each EDI graduate at the event received three minutes to discuss a topic of their choice.

Lenore Kaplan Balson (EDI '10) talked about the importance of family. David Jelke (EDI '23) led a brief meditation session. Rita Wang (EDI '23) reinforced the importance of having a good work-life balance.

Ruizhi Liu (EDI '13) went in a different direction than his fellow alumni. Liu used his time to talk about his passion for “The Great British Bake Off” and how he felt design was just like baking.

"You can't rush through design," Liu said. "You have to follow the process from end to end, and what you start with is rarely what you end with."