The University of Iowa’s DesignDash program will expand internationally for the first time in March, bringing its innovation-focused learning model to Lisbon, Portugal. Led by Dawn Bowlus, director of the Jacobson Institute for Youth Entrepreneurship, the program will introduce approximately 30 medical students at Católica Medical School to design thinking and entrepreneurial frameworks aimed at advancing health care innovation. DesignDash was originally launched in 2022 for high school students. The Lisbon experience opens an opportunity for global expansion, a news release said. “This is a huge highlight for DesignDash,” Bowlus said in a prepared statement. “This is our first opportunity to actually take the program into a completely different environment, see how it works, and establish a partner.” Bowlus will travel to Portugal with Sarah Vigmostad, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Iowa.
