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Plan
By Phase By Day Calendar
Launch
Students will launch the internship challenge by analyzing an authentic small-business case, building team norms, practicing core entrepreneurship concepts, preparing for stakeholder communication, and producing an initial project scope draft grounded in evidence, risks, and opportunities.
Days 1 - 5
🚀 Challenge Kickoff Case Lab
Launch 45m
🏢 Ownership Models Decision Sort
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
⚠️ Risk and Ethical AI Clinic
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
📧 Mentor Email and Scope Draft
Deliverable 45m
📝 Scope Gallery Walk Revision
Assessment 45m

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Empathy & Research
Students will gather and analyze mentor, client, and case-study evidence to understand user needs, customer pain points, market opportunities, ownership tradeoffs, risks, and ethical responsibilities. They will turn raw evidence into structured empathy artifacts, revise their inquiry focus, and document a research-based project direction through interview notes, audio reflections, and a gated evidence checkpoint.
Days 6 - 13
🧭 Mentor Interview Question Clinic
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
📊 Case File Patterns Board
Research 45m
🏢 Ownership Tradeoff Scenarios
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
🎤 Client Intake Interview
Community Experience 45m
⚖️ Risk and Ethical AI Check
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
🗺️ Empathy Map and Insight Clusters
Deliverable 45m
🧾 Evidence Brief Peer Tuning
Project Work 45m
🚦 Research Gate Gallery Walk
Assessment 45m

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Define Design Brief
Students will synthesize mentor interview evidence, case-study findings, and market signals into a clear design brief with a focused How Might We statement, defined constraints, documented assumptions, and a risk-and-responsibility checklist that addresses ownership, ethics, safety, and AI use before moving into concept generation.
Days 14 - 21
🧩 Evidence Cluster Wall
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
🏢 Ownership Choice Scenarios
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
⚠️ Risk and AI Guardrails
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
📝 Design Brief Draft
Deliverable 45m
💬 Design Brief Tuning
Project Work 45m
🎙️ Mentor Check-In Audio Log
Community Experience 45m
✅ Approved Brief and Checklist
Assessment 45m
🖼️ Milestone Gallery Walk
Project Work 45m

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Generate Concept Options
Students will generate several distinct solution concepts for a small-business challenge, test each idea against user evidence, market signals, risk factors, and ethical responsibilities, then select one concept direction to carry into prototyping with documented justification and revision history.
Days 22 - 29
🧠 Concept Sprint from Empathy Maps
Launch 45m
📊 Ownership and Feasibility Sort
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
⚠️ Risk and Ethical AI Checkpoint
Knowledge/Skill Building 45m
✏️ Three Concept Boards
Deliverable 45m
🗣️ Tuning Protocol on Concept Boards
Project Work 45m
🎙️ Mentor Check-In and Audio Debrief
Community Experience 45m
🧮 Weighted Decision Matrix Revision
Project Work 45m
🖼️ Concept Gallery Walk Notes
Assessment 45m

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Prototype & Test Cycle
Students will build and test rapid prototype versions of their small-business solution, gather direct user and peer feedback, document two revision cycles, and produce a stronger mid-fidelity prototype with clear evidence of how customer pain points, risks, differentiation, ethics, and project scope shaped design decisions.
Days 30 - 37
🚦 Prototype Test Criteria
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
🧰 Low-Fidelity Prototype Sprint
Project Work 45m
🗣️ User Testing Round One
Community Experience 45m
📊 Feedback Log and Revision Plan
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
🔁 Mid-Fidelity Build Revision
Deliverable 45m
🧪 Tuning Protocol Feedback
Research 45m
👥 User Testing Round Two
Community Experience 45m
📌 Iteration Gate Gallery Walk
Assessment 45m

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Validate & Present
Students will validate their solution with a representative user, document final evidence-based decisions, and prepare a stakeholder-facing pitch deck, script, and portfolio assets that explain their design journey, risks, ethics, and recommended next steps.
Days 38 - 45
🎯 Final Validation Plan
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
🗣️ User Check-In Notes
Community Experience 45m
⚖️ Risk and Ethics Decision Record
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
🖥️ Pitch Deck Build Sprint
Project Work 45m
🤝 Peer Tuning on Pitch Decks
Deliverable 45m
🎤 Script and Q&A Rehearsal
Knowledge/Skill Building 35m
📝 Milestone Gallery Walk Notes
Deliverable 30m
✅ Portfolio Defense Readiness Check
Assessment 45m

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Showcase
Students will finalize exhibition materials, present their small-business solution and digital portfolio to an authentic audience, capture stakeholder feedback, and complete a closing reflection on evidence, risk, ethics, professionalism, and next steps.
Days 46 - 50
🧭 Portfolio Pitch Night Run-Through
Knowledge/Skill Building 40m
🗣️ Warm-Cool Feedback Tuning
Deliverable 45m
🌐 Portfolio Pitch Night
Community Experience 45m
🎙️ Mentor Check-In Audio Debrief
Deliverable 25m
🧾 Portfolio Defense and Gallery Walk
Assessment 45m

Edit Phase

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