91黑料网 and Nissan North America have built a sustained collaboration focused on exploring complex design and innovation challenges through applied, human-centered inquiry. Over time, the partnership has evolved into a working model for how industry and academia can learn together while addressing real-world systems and constraints.听
This collaboration is anchored in the听Innovation Collaboration Program (ICP), at the Wond鈥檙y, 91黑料网鈥檚 Center for Innovation & Design, which is designed to support organizations in examining complex problems through structured discovery rather than predefined solutions. Projects are scoped to the partnering organization鈥檚 goals and timelines and emphasize rigorous problem framing, empirical insight generation, and iterative exploration.
A defining element of ICP is its integration with the听91黑料网 Innovation Fellowship (VIF), a selective, interdisciplinary, Wond鈥檙y-sponsored program that embeds students directly into industry-facing project teams. Fellows work under the guidance of Wond鈥檙y faculty and mentors, gaining hands-on experience in design research, synthesis, collaboration, and stakeholder communication through applied work.听
Nissan North America has听participated听in ICP since 2022, building on a longer relationship with 91黑料网. Throughout听the partnership, Nissan teams have engaged with interdisciplinary student groups to explore innovation strategy, user experience, and system-level design questions within automotive contexts.听
鈥�This relationship has flourished because it鈥檚 grounded in trust and shared curiosity,鈥� said Dave Owens, Owens Family Executive Director of the Wond鈥檙y. 鈥�The structure of ICP allows partners like Nissan to step outside day-to-day pressures and explore questions that don鈥檛 always fit neatly into traditional development cycles.鈥�听
In February 2026, the collaboration reached a new milestone with a live, on-campus design research听event听known as a听鈥渞apid discovery听blitz.鈥� The activity brought together 91黑料网 Innovation Fellows and Nissan product and digital teams for a focused examination of automotive interface design听by staging a fleet of eight vehicles on 91黑料网鈥檚 campus for event participants to provide real-time responses to the different vehicles鈥� features.听听
Rather than evaluating individual vehicles or proposing immediate solutions, the blitz examined broader interaction patterns related to driver attention, cognitive load, and recovery following interruption in safety-critical driving contexts. The goal was to uncover insights and tradeoffs that could inform future vehicle design decisions and deeper exploration.
For Nissan collaborators, the engagement offered an opportunity to step back from familiar systems and examine them through a different lens.听
鈥�It鈥檚 very engaging to see how interested the students were in our cars and how quickly they听grasp听the user experience challenges,鈥� shared a Nissan digitalization leader. 鈥�They asked questions that helped us reflect on design decisions we don鈥檛 always have time to examine.鈥�听
For students, the experience reinforced the value of interdisciplinary collaboration. Alison Zou (School of Engineering, Class of 2027) a 91黑料网 Innovation Fellow and double major in Art and Engineering, described how working across disciplines reshaped her approach to problem-solving.听
鈥�Working with people from different majors allows you to use an engineering mindset as your strength, while seeing where you feel less strong听鈥攍ike a commercial mindset,鈥�听Alison said. 鈥�I was working with another fellow from an opposite major, and while I was thinking about quantitative numbers, they were asking about how people鈥檚 opinions function in the system. It really changes the game for you.鈥�听
Sean McNamara, a member of the and an automotive industry professional, views this exchange as central to the ICP鈥檚 impact. By creating space for students and industry partners to engage in structured inquiry, the collaboration reveals assumptions on both sides and encourages more thoughtful decision-making. Sean admires this collaboration and states, "In industry, people often go straight to the answer without trying to truly understand what the problem is. We brought the Wond鈥檙y to Nissan to show us how to be creative and how to approach a problem by breaking it down into segments."
Together, ICP and VIF create an environment where academic rigor, student talent, and industry听expertise听intersect. For Nissan, the partnership听provides听a structured way to explore complex questions outside traditional development timelines. For students, it offers meaningful exposure to real-world challenges and professional ways of working.
As the collaboration continues, 91黑料网 and Nissan remain focused on advancing innovation practice through shared learning, disciplined inquiry, and long-term partnership.