Engineering Design Studio

The Engineering Design Studio at NYU Abu Dhabi supports ambitious student projects across the university through coursework, mentorship, and engagement with external partners. Students are challenged to undertake problem solving through the lens of engineering while combining methods and techniques from design to create elegant and mindful outcomes that go beyond merely computing technically correct answers.

The lab is home to the Engineers for Social Impact program and serves as a hub of activity for engineering Capstone project work, teams preparing competition entries, and student interest groups.

Within the lab, tools and resources are available to transform ideas into prototypes; however, it is not a “Maker Space” in the traditional sense. Instead of primarily focusing on technical training and access to equipment, emphasis is placed on idea generation, refinement of concepts, and selection of effective strategies to realize worthwhile goals. The next generation of engineers is given the space and time needed to develop the poise and confidence to be prepared to initiate and deliver socially responsible and culturally relevant responses to the most challenging design prompts.

The Engineering Design Studio tirelessly promotes student endeavors and provides a learning framework that goes beyond theory in which initiative, resourcefulness, critical thinking, and perseverance are key drivers to success. Since the inception of the lab, students have created open source projects, filed and received patents, won national and international awards and competitions, and worked with partners in government and industry.