What’s Design Got to Do with It?
How Scout is a part of something bigger. Much bigger.
Did I hook you with that headline? Are you thinking, gee, what does design have to do with it? And what is it? What exactly is Scout a part of — and how big could it possibly be?
Well, in a nutshell, here it is: Scout, and each member within, is a part of Mosaic, a body of student-led entrepreneurial organizations at Northeastern University. All of these groups have their own individual missions and specialties, but Mosaic brings them together to create a robust network of passionate, hardworking student entrepreneurs.
In total, there are nine thriving organizations under the great, big Mosaic umbrella: Compass, Entrepreneurs Club, Generate, IDEA, IP CO-LAB, NU Impact, Origin: Deep Tech Hub, Scout and Social Enterprise Institute. Areas of focus for each group cover disciplines across the board; whether its accounting, business planning, product development, law, or design, just to name a few.
I like to imagine the Mosaic alliance as an orchestra. Each member is a musician. Each organization is an instrument family, like percussion or strings. These entities can produce beautiful music on their own. But there is nothing that compares to the grand, sweeping sounds of an entire symphony playing together. Likewise, each member and organization of Mosaic can make great strides towards success individually. But when ideas are exchanged and work is shared throughout the entire Mosaic community, there is incalculable growth that can only be fostered through these synergistic interactions! Thus, the musicians of Mosaic operate in harmony.
As the sole design studio within Mosaic, Scout plays an integral role in bringing many of the ventures and ideas of the other organizations to life. Design goes hand-in-hand with business, elevating entrepreneurial visions and making them a reality. Designers, developers, and clients come together within Mosaic to hone their skills and build their professional knowledge in a mutually beneficial way.
“Scout’s position within Mosaic is a unique one, where sometimes the elements of entrepreneurship aren’t always as clear in an industry outside of business or STEM,” says Vanessa Gregorchik, Scout’s Executive Director. “But the skills our designers and developers gain in working with internal and external clients in the Mosaic community give them the tools they need to run each stage of the design process.”
In this way, Mosaic is unique from a design perspective because it allows Scout members to become entrepreneurs themselves! The Mosaic community provides them with the education, experience, and empowerment to take all they’ve learned and run with it.
“It’s so incredible to see members of Scout leave and start their own design firms because their work empowered them to become their own bosses of their own businesses!” Gregorchik adds proudly. The entrepreneurial spirit fostered through Mosaic truly thrives in Scout alumni as they launch their careers.
Is it starting to make sense yet? Scout brings creative thinking and design expertise to the Mosaic alliance, which in turn provides all its members with opportunities for growth across all disciplines and in new spaces.
Scout, as a member of Mosaic, has no boundaries for such growth! Scout’s reach can, and already does, extend far beyond the borders of Northeastern’s campus; whether its sending alumni into the workforce, collaborating with the Boston design community, or hosting our very own design conference to connect the creators of today and tomorrow. The best part is, that the symbiotic nature of Mosaic allows all parts of the ecosystem to benefit from Scout’s progress, and further enrich it.
There’s no way of truly measuring just how much Scout has accomplished, or predicting how much Scout will accomplish in the years to come. But I can tell you that design has a whole lot to do with it. And so does Mosaic.
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