Developing future generations of QoLT researchers through education, outreach, and diversity initiatives

QoLT is an emerging šeld that focuses on the use of intelligent technology to support those in need by enabling them to more independently perform activities of daily living and giving them opportunities to participate in society longer and more fully. QoLT is not just a set of new technologies. It promises a fundamental shift from traditionally more intelligent and more autonomous systems to person-system symbiosis in which people and engineered components are mutually dependent and work together. The unique focus of this emerging šeld demands integration across diverse disciplines including engineering, robotics, design, clinical, and social sciences, as well as a systems perspective on creating socially constructive products for human communities. Existing training programs fail at providing this interdisciplinary integration of šelds by isolating the engineering and technical domains from the medical and rehabilitation sciences. In contrast to traditional training programs, because integration across several disciplines is inherent in QoLT research, the QoLT Center Education, Outreach, and Diversity (EOD) team has created an environment where faculty, students, practitioners, and consumers from multiple disciplines collaborate on hands-on projects that address real-world problems.