Written by Luke Piers

Sustainability in Today’s World

In today’s rapidly evolving world, sustainability has become a rising concern across various industries. One institution that has embraced this is Keene State College, particularly through its Sustainable Product Design and Innovation program. However, like many academic programs, it faced the challenge of low applicant numbers. To address this problem, market research emerged as a crucial tool, enabling a deeper understanding of the program’s strengths and areas for improvement.

My Role

I had the privilege of collaborating closely with the director of the Sustainable Product Design program at Keene State College two summers ago. Our weekly meetings provided a platform to review progress and exchange ideas, particularly focusing on enhancing the program’s visibility and appeal. One of the primary issues identified was the need to improve awareness for the program to hopefully help increase annual applicants coming into the program.

Tackling the Challenge

To tackle this challenge effectively, market research played a pivotal role. I began my research by conducting numerous interviews with prospective students from my high school as well as create a survey that would be distributed across various social media platforms. With over 100 students participating, their responses provided me with a great insight on what steps needed to be taken to help ensure program success in the future. After I analyzed the feedback from interviews and surveys, several key themes emerged. It became evident that while the Sustainable Product Design program offered tremendous potential, its awareness needed to be heightened. Many respondents expressed a lack of awareness about the program’s existence and its unique offerings. Some other themes that were seen included wanting to go to a college out of state or that students were interested in a major that was not offered within the program at Keene State College.

Recommendations

To address this problem, recommendations were made to rebuild the website. I proposed to the directors that they should create videos of the program that highlighted their new facility and student projects and achievements. By creating spotlight and videos on the program’s strengths, the improved website would become a powerful tool for attracting and prospective applicants. During the time I worked with the Sustainable Product Design and Innovation program, campus tours and visits were at a halt and the importance of having a strong website was more important than ever.

Post Internship

I have kept in touch with the directors of the program, and they have informed me that they have incorporated a couple of my suggestions I made to the program. Overall, working with the Sustainable Product Design and Innovation program was an incredible experience as they allowed me to conduct my own market research which was something I had never done before outside of class.