In my research and program as a third-year Ph.D. Sociology student at The Ohio State University I mostly focus on the issues surrounding diversity and inclusion. Because of my interest in this, I decided to step outside of the boundaries of my field and expand my knowledge through the Inclusive Smart Society courses. Having finished Inclusive Smart Society II this semester, I can say that I have loved being exposed to a very diverse group of people, not only by nationality, cultural backgrounds, or age, but also their majors and interests, and I felt truly embedded in an international and cooperative peer environment where we all help each other learn new things.
Throughout the course, we all participated in lively discussions in a forum-thread style on various topics regarding smart societies. These discussions were at times challenging, but always stimulating. The Professors in their lecture videos talked not only about urban planning, but many other topics including manga and story creation, theater, history, technological innovations, and AI, among others. And, finally, the assignments asked for our reflections allowing us to deepen how we think about these topics and how we understand smart societies. The Professors and other students respected everyone’s opinions, including those who come from outside of entrepreneurial fields.
Participating in this course, and the whole ISS series, allowed me to understand there are many ways to approach “diversity and inclusion”. As it was structured, the course itself was accepting of diversity through its multiple means of engagement and knowledge expression, which I really appreciated. Thanks to this experience, I have reinforced my motivation to use my research to work toward an inclusive, and technologically and socially smart society not only locally but globally as well. I highly recommend this course to everyone who is interested in meeting new people, different ways of thinking about a multicultural, supportive, and accessible society, and trying their hand at coming up with an entrepreneurial social issue-oriented idea!