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HOW CAN STUDENTS ENSURE THAT THEIR FINTECH CAPSTONE PROJECTS ARE FOCUSED ON USER AND BUSINESS NEEDS

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Conduct user research to understand pain points and identify opportunities. Students should speak to potential target users through surveys, interviews, focus groups or usability tests to understand what problems are most pressing in their daily tasks or workflows. User research helps uncover unmet needs and pain points that a solution could address. It’s important to get input from multiple users with different backgrounds and perspectives to find common themes.

Perform competitive analysis and gap analysis. Students should research what existing solutions are currently available on the market and how those solutions are meeting or not meeting user needs. A gap analysis evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of competitors while also identifying white spaces of unmet needs. This allows students to design a solution that fills gaps rather than duplicating what already exists. It’s important for projects to provide unique value.

Develop personas. Based on user research findings, students can create user personas – fictional representations of the target users. Personas put a human face to abstract user groups and help students understand the motivations, frustrations and characteristics of different types of users. Well-developed personas keep the solution focused on empathizing with and solving problems for specific user types throughout the design and development process.

Understand the business model and value proposition. Students must clarify how their proposed solution would generate revenue and provide value for both users and the business. Questions to consider include: What problem is being solved? Who is the customer? What direct and indirect needs are being addressed? How will customers pay and what is in it for them? How will the business make money? How does the value proposition differ from competitors? Having well-defined business model helps ensure technical solutions are developed with commercialization and profitability in mind.

Create user journeys and flows. Students should map out the step-by-step process a user would take to accomplish tasks within the proposed solution. User journeys identify touchpoints, potential frustrations, and opportunities for improvement. Mapping the before-and-after workflows helps validate whether the solution will provide a seamless, efficient experience and achieve the desired outcomes for users. User journeys also give insight into how functionality and features should be prioritized or developed.

Build prototypes. Low to high fidelity prototypes allow users to interact with and provide feedback on early versions of the concept. paper prototyping, interactive prototypes, or wireframes give students a chance to test design ideas and learn where the design succeeds or fails in meeting user needs before significant development effort is expended. Iterative prototyping helps students incorporate user feedback to refine the solution design in a user-centered manner.

Conduct iterative user testing. Students should test prototype versions of the solution with target users to uncover usability issues, comprehension problems, and ensure tasks can be completed as expected. User testing early and often prevents larger reworks later and helps keep the student focused on designing for real user needs and behaviors. Each round of user research, prototyping and testing allows for ongoing refinement to the solution and business model based on learning what is most effective and valued by potential customers.

Consult with industry mentors. Seeking guidance from industry mentors – such as accomplished alumni, executives, or potential customers – gives students an outside perspective on whether their proposed solution aligns with market opportunities and realities. Consulting experienced professionals in the target domain helps validate business assumptions, get early customer interest and feedback, and ensures the technical vision considers practical implementation challenges. Mentor input helps reduce risk and strengthen customer-centric aspects of the solution design.

Present to target users. Students should organize a stakeholder presentation to demonstrate prototypes or concepts to potential target users and customer organizations. Presentations mimic real-world customer validation opportunities and allow students to observe user reactions firsthand and answer questions. Students gain valuable insights into how well non-technical audiences understand value propositions and whether interests are captured as intended. Stakeholder feedback during final validation is crucial for fine-tuning the pitch before capstone conclusions are drawn.

By conducting iterative user research, developing personas, mapping workflows, building prototypes, testing with users, consulting mentors and stakeholders, students can have high confidence their capstone projects address authentic needs that are important and valuable to its intended users and target organizations. This user-centered mindset is imperative for developing commercially-viable fintech solutions and ensures the technical work produces maximum impact and benefit outside of academic requirements. Targeting real-world problems leads to more compelling demonstrations of how technology can enhance financial services, processes and experiences.

WHAT ARE SOME KEY CONSIDERATIONS FOR STUDENTS WHEN DEVELOPING A GRANT PROPOSAL FOR THEIR CAPSTONE PROJECT

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One of the most important things for students to consider when developing a grant proposal is clearly articulating the need or problem their project aims to address. Grantors want to fund projects that will make a meaningful impact, so students need to take time to research and clearly state the issue or opportunity their project is targeting. They should provide relevant data and facts to back up why this need exists and how their proposed project will help address it. Simply identifying the need is not enough – students also need to explain why existing solutions are inadequate and how their project presents a creative or innovative approach to solving the problem or seizing the opportunity.

When explaining their proposed project itself, students should provide specific, well-thought out details about what they plan to do, how they will do it, and what outcomes they expect to achieve. Vague, ambiguous project descriptions are a red flag for grantors. Students need to have a clear vision and methodology planned. They should explain each stage and activity of the project in their proposal narrative as well as provide a detailed timeline and breakdown of projected costs. Including visual aids like charts, diagrams or tables can help strengthen explanations. Students also need to consider factors like feasibility, sustainability, risks and challenges to demonstrate they have thoroughly planned their project rather than just having a vague idea.

Key stakeholders and community support are another critical component for students to address. Grantors want to know a project has buy-in from those affected. Students should identify who the key stakeholders are – both individuals and organizations – and provide letters of support showing these stakeholders endorse and will support or partner on the proposed project. Explaining how the project aligns with or advances the strategic goals and priorities of these stakeholders provides further credibility. Students also need to identify what permissions or approvals may be required to successfully complete the project and explain their plan and timeline for securing these.

When developing their budget, students need to provide a detailed line item breakdown with clear explanations and cost estimates for all projected expenses. They should group costs into logical categories like personnel, materials, facilities, equipment, travel etc. All budget items need to directly relate back to planned project activities. Grantors will scrutinize budgets to ensure costs are reasonable and necessary. Including budget notes to explain cost assumptions helps build confidence. Strong budget justification will also consider factors like in-kind or matching support that demonstrates broader investment in the project other than just the grant funds requested.

The proposal should clearly state the intended outcomes of the project and how they will be measured. Students need specific, quantifiable performance metrics and an evaluation plan for how they will collect and report data to demonstrate progress and impact. Simply stating the project will lead to positive change is not enough. Outcomes should be tied to addressing the identified need. Students also need to consider sustainability – how the project’s benefits will continue after the grant period ends. A sustainability plan helps assure impact beyond the initial funding timeframe. The proposal should leave the grantor feeling confident the project is worth funding and assure deliverables and outcomes can be successfully achieved and measured.

The grant proposal is also a chance for students to highlight and sell their own capabilities and experience. While this should be focused on demonstrating how they specifically are qualified to successfully complete the project, students should avoid coming across as self-promotional. They need to position themselves as leaders who can effectively manage the project while also collaborating with partners and stakeholders. Résumés, bios, references or letters of recommendation can help in this aspect while staying within a reasonable scope for a capstone project proposal. Ensuring the proposal conforms to all formatting guidelines of the specific granting program is also a baseline prerequisite. Following instructions helps demonstrate attention to detail.

Students should take time to thoroughly plan their capstone project idea before beginning to draft the proposal. A compelling need supported by research, well-defined objectives and activities, a realistic budget, clear outcomes and an evaluation plan are all crucial components. Demonstrating feasibility, community engagement and thesubmitter’s own qualifications to successfully implement the project are also important factors grantors consider. With diligent preparation and a proposal that addresses all these key areas with specific, compelling details, students can maximize their chances of securing important grant funding to transform their capstone concept into a meaningful realized project. Careful development of a high-quality proposal is an important first step in the process.

WHAT ARE SOME OTHER AREAS OF NEONATAL CARE THAT NURSING STUDENTS CAN FOCUS ON FOR THEIR CAPSTONE PROJECTS

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Kangaroo care is a type of skin-to-skin contact between a baby and parent. Kangaroo care involves holding the infant upright against the parent’s bare chest, with skin-to-skin contact and close bonding moments between parent and newborn. A student could examine the benefits of kangaroo care on premature or low birth weight infants. Some potential benefits to explore include improved cardiorespiratory stability, better temperature regulation, enhanced brain development and infant growth, and shorter hospital stays. The student could design an educational or implementation project to promote wider use of kangaroo care in their neonatal unit.

Another important aspect of neonatal care is supporting parent-infant bonding, especially for babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Separation of parents from their hospitalized infants can be distressing. A student may investigate different strategies used to encourage parental involvement in infant caregiving activities like feeding, kangaroo care, and diaper changes even for babies with medical complexity. This can help assess which approaches are most effective in strengthening the parent-infant relationship during the fragile early weeks. The student could create educational materials, resources, or guidelines for nursing staff on developmental care practices that integrate parents as vital members of the healthcare team.

Infant pain management is also a critical component of neonatal care. Untreated pain in the NICU can have lasting consequences on infant neurodevelopment and stress response systems. A student may conduct an extensive literature review on the short-term and long-term impacts of pain/stress on preterm infants, comparing different pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management techniques. The student could develop a new evidence-based neonatal unit pain/stress assessment and treatment protocol, plus staff/parent education resources, addressing both procedural and postoperative pain as well as chronic minor pain from routine care activities. Proper pain management improves clinical outcomes and is part of providing family-centered developmental care.

Another focus area relates to breastfeeding support for mothers of preterm infants. The benefits of human breast milk for premature babies are well established. Challenges like nutritional needs, limited milk production, pumping challenges, and medical complexity can disrupt a mother’s ability to successfully breastfeed her hospitalized preemie. A student may shadow lactation consultants and observe challenges experienced on the postpartum floor and NICU. The student could then create a comprehensive breastfeeding support program and guideline for mothers with preterm infants, highlighting factors like milk expression, breastmilk fortification, supplemental nursing systems, pumping techniques, and working with doctors/nurses/lactation educators as a team. The project could help more NICU babies receive the proven advantages of human breast milk.

An additional important area of focus is infant and family education prior to NICU discharge. Being discharged home with a medically fragile infant can cause significant stress and anxiety for parents, especially those without prior children or NICU experience. A student may evaluate their unit’s current discharge teaching methods, resources, and family satisfaction. The student could investigate best practices for standardized discharge education programs, develop new family-centered teaching modules and materials, and test their implementation. Follow-up after discharge would provide insight into information retention as well as new stresses facing parents adjusting to life at home with a medically complex baby. The goal is ensuring families feel fully prepared for the transition and know where to seek help with any concerns.

A student could focus on developmental and psychological support for infants discharged from the NICU. Infants born prematurely or with health issues have an increased risk of developmental delays, cognitive impairments, and mental health issues even without physical disability. The student may research the cost and benefits of various developmental follow-up programs. They could then propose a standardized developmental screening and support model for at-risk infants, from in-NICU services through outpatient follow-up after discharge. Community resources and support groups for families raising medically fragile children could also be included. The project aims to facilitate early identification and intervention to optimize outcomes for high-risk infants.

There are many important areas related to neonatal care that would provide excellent focus for a nursing capstone project. The key is selecting a topic aligned with your unit’s needs and priorities, conducting thorough research, and developing translational materials or programs that can have real benefits for patients, families, providers and the wider healthcare system. Any of the above suggestions would allow for an in-depth exploration of a critical issue and potential to improve neonatal nursing practice.

HOW CAN ORGANIZATIONS MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF THEIR DIVERSITY EQUITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES

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There are several key ways that organizations can measure the success of their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. It is important to develop meaningful metrics and track both qualitative and quantitative data over time to assess progress and the impact of DEI efforts.

Retention and representation metrics: Tracking retention rates and representation data across different demographic groups can help measure success. Organizations should look at things like retention of minority employees, women, people with disabilities, and other underrepresented groups compared to overall retention rates. They can also track representation rates in leadership, different levels of management, overall workforce composition, recruiting pipelines, and retention from recruiting to hiring. Increasing retention and improving representation over time across all groups would indicate positive impact from DEI initiatives.

Employee experience through surveys: Conducting anonymous surveys that measure employee experience related to DEI can provide valuable insight. Questions can assess how included and welcomed different groups feel, their sense of belonging, fair treatment, and whether the culture is improving. Benchmarking survey data over multiple years shows trends. Response rates from underrepresented groups are also important to track, as are actions taken in response to survey findings. Continuous improvement in employee feedback would suggest DEI efforts are enhancing workplace experiences and culture.

Engagement and satisfaction metrics: Tracking metrics like employee engagement scores, satisfaction rates, “likelihood to recommend employer” scores, broken down by demographic group, can gauge impact. DEI initiatives aim to enhance all employee experiences, so engagement and satisfaction rates improving or remaining high among all groups is a sign of progress. Surveying people who recently left the company on their experiences can also highlight areas for improvement.

Progress on DEI goals: Setting public, measurable DEI goals is important for accountability. Tracking progress made on specific, time-bound goals shows if initiatives are effective. For example, goals may include doubling the number of women or minorities in leadership by a certain date, mandating DEI training completion rates, increasing spending with minority-owned vendors, etc. Evaluating progress on concrete, transparent goals holds an organization responsible for following through on its commitments.

Diversity of opportunities: Tracking the diversity of employees accessing high-potential opportunities, like leadership training programs, coveted assignments, promotions, mentorship opportunities, can demonstrate impact. DEI aims to foster an inclusive environment with equal access to career-boosting opportunities. Seeing more equal representation of diverse groups accessing high-potential opportunities indicates the organization is culturally evolving.

Reduced bias complaints: Tracking formal and informal complaints related to bias, discrimination, unfair treatment based on personal attributes can provide useful metrics. A decreasing trend in such complaints over time suggests cultural shifts are occurring and DEI efforts are having positive effects. This also protects the organization by reducing legal risks.

Volunteerism and resource group participation: Tracking volunteer rates and involvement in employee resource groups (ERGs) by different employee demographic categories shows engagement. Representation in ERGs and rates of participation in volunteering suggests employees feel invested and supported enough to actively contribute back to DEI initiatives.

Supplier and vendor diversity: Tracking spending statistics with minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned businesses, etc. and increases over time demonstrate initiative follow through. DEI aims to promote inclusive and equitable hiring, sourcing, and procurement practices throughout business ecosystems.

Qualitative testimony: Soliciting individual employee stories of how the culture and their experiences have positively changed thanks to DEI efforts provides meaningful, credible qualitative metrics. Hearing diverse voices brings data to life and highlights the true impact initiatives have on workplace inclusion, sense of belonging, and empowerment.

By comprehensively tracking both quantitative and qualitative metrics across these and other impact areas, organizations can holistically gauge success, continuously improve efforts, and ensure accountability. Seeing steady, sustained progress in DEI metrics over multiple years indicates initiatives are driving meaningful, long-term cultural evolution.

HOW CAN HR DEPARTMENTS MEASURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THEIR EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS

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Employee engagement surveys are one of the most common and useful tools for HR to measure engagement. Conducting periodic anonymous surveys allows employees to provide confidential feedback on their workplace experiences, how supported and valued they feel, their willingness to advocate for the company, and their overall satisfaction. Care should be taken to ensure the questions are meaningful and provide actionable data. Some examples include using a scale to rate agreement with statements about feeling pride in work, willing to go above and beyond, supported with training and resources to do their job well, treated fairly regardless of personal characteristics, etc. Comparing survey results over time can reveal improving or worsening trends. Benchmarks against other organizations in the same industry can also provide useful context.

Focus groups and exit interviews are another valuable qualitative method. Selecting a representative sample of employees for confidential small group discussions or one-on-one exit meetings allows deeper exploration of drivers of engagement. For example, participants could discuss what specific actions by managers, supervisors or the company most influence how they feel about their jobs. Common themes across responses can highlight organizational strengths to capitalize on and weaknesses to prioritize for improvement. Direct quotes from participants regarding their experiences also personalize the data in a compelling way to motivate action.

Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) related to engagement such as absenteeism/tardiness rates, turnover rates, number of employee recognition awards, participation in optional development/training programs, can provide objective metrics of how engaged employees are feeling over time. Significant decreases in absence or turnover, or increases in recognition and development participation could suggest engagement initiatives are having a positive impact on employee behaviors and retention. These metrics are also useful for benchmarking against industry/competitor standards, or comparing different departments within the organization.

Monitoring internal communication channels is another effective way for HR to gauge engagement. For example, looking at viewership/readership rates of company newsletters, website, intranet, videos, etc. can provide valuable engagement indicators, particularly if there are year-over-year upward trends. Tracking mentions/shares of company posts on internal social networks demonstrates active participation, two-way communication and advocacy. HR may also consider conducting occasional employee Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys asking how likely employees are to recommend their employer to others – this can be a useful metric of discretionary effort and engagement levels.

Tracking key performance indicators related to the initiatives themselves is important too. For example, if the company has implemented a formal employee recognition program, HR should monitor metrics like the number of monthly/quarterly recognitions awarded across different teams/levels, compliance rates for managers in taking part, employee feedback about impact of recognition received. Analyzing utilization and dropout rates of any wellness/development programs introduced can also provide insights. Comparing pre/post engagement survey results can help determine impact, with statistically significant improvements directly tied to implemented initiatives.

Finally, HR should also consider some external validation of engagement efforts through third party employer branding surveys. Tools like Indeed’s annual ‘Employer Award’ rankings, Comparably’s workplace culture/compensation ratings, LinkedIn Top Companies lists etc. allow benchmarking engagement against peer organizations as perceived by both employees and job seekers. Significant jumps in external reputation ratings could reflect growing employee pride and advocacy for the employer brand – key outcomes of improved engagement.

Utilizing a blended approach incorporating surveys, focus groups, tracking of objective metrics, monitoring of internal communications, and external validation can provide HR with meaningful multi-dimensional data to benchmark, identify strengths/weaknesses, and truly understand the impact of employee engagement initiatives over time at their organization. With the right measurements in place, HR is better positioned to continuously enhance engagement strategies and optimize the employee experience.