ACCESS Health China Teaching at New York University Shanghai

In January, ACCESS Health China was invited to design and teach a New York University Shanghai course titled Design Sprint: Modern Aging and Health Futures in China. Eight students from numerous university study centers and campuses registered for the three week course. The course taught students about health and aging in China and the methodology of the Design Sprint. ACCESS Health instructors spent the first two weeks of the course teaching students about health and aging in China as well as the methodology of the design sprint. The design sprint is a methodology developed by Google Ventures to rapidly build and test a working prototype in just five days. Students were asked to tackle one problem during the last week of the course and were encourage to sprint their way to an effective solution.

Qing Liu and Chang Liu of ACCESS Health China walked the students through topics such as
demographic change, the elder care system, the healthcare system, and the innovation development of aging and health industry in China and Asia.

Class visit to the Grand Action Aging Experiencing Center

They also brought the class to visit some of ACCESS Health’s Modern Aging partners, Grand Action Aging Experiencing Center and iZhaohu, a community based services institution

Fei Fang joined Qing Liu, as well as two Modern Aging mentors – Mr. Qin Qu of Law View Partners and Ms. Qi Yang, a consulting expert on aging services – to answer questions from the students about aging and healthcare problems in China. Finally, the students began the design sprint. They decided to redefine the way longevity options are presented to affluent Shanghainese. The final product was a smart phone application for the elderly. The app was a fluid mix of old and new, with an extremely simple design meant to be user friendly for an elderly population but integrating the most current apps and ads of today.

William Haseltine meets with NYU Shanghai Design Sprint students

When the final product came out, ACCESS Health China invited senior citizen volunteers from its local partner, Oldkids Internet Community, to test the product and provide feedback.

ACCESS Health International President William Haseltine was also invited to give a keynote speech to students, which left a lasting impression on students.