Where Healthcare Meets Humanity. Where Technology Meets Creativity.
Reimagining the Future of Human-Centered Innovation
The Klasko Humanics Innovation Challenge Fund invites students and faculty at Fairleigh Dickinson University to push beyond traditional boundaries—where artificial intelligence and human creativity work together to solve problems that matter.
Inspired by Dr. Stephen Klasko’s groundbreaking work merging health science and design education, this fund fuels bold, collaborative experiments that unite technology, empathy, and imagination to improve lives.
Why It Matters
“AI won’t steal your job—but someone who works with AI will.”
— Dr. Stephen Klasko
Tomorrow’s leaders will need more than technical skills. They’ll need to blend:
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Technological fluency with human empathy
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Data insights with creative problem-solving
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Digital innovation with cultural understanding
The Klasko Humanics Challenge empowers them to do exactly that.
The Challenge Framework
With an initial $200,000 in seed funding—and opportunities for matching and expanded gifts—the fund supports interdisciplinary teams through high-impact “disruptive partnership” challenges, including:
💡 The Healthcare Humanity Lab
Transforming patient experience through AI-powered empathy by uniting nursing, computer science, and performing arts.
🌍 The Culture-Tech Collision Studio
Where anthropology meets algorithms—developing technology that understands cultural nuance and serves diverse communities.
🚀 The Creative Disruption Incubator
Fusing entrepreneurship, social work, and design to create startups that make technology more human.
📊 The Storytelling Data Lab
Turning data into stories that inform, heal, and inspire through journalism, creative writing, and data science.
How It Works
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The Two-Minute Pitch – Teams submit short videos answering bold questions about the impossible.
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The Collaboration Experiment – Selected teams receive mini-grants to test their ideas.
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The Community Showcase – A public event featuring prototypes, insights, and storytelling.
Projects are evaluated for creativity, real-world impact, human transformation, and community engagement.
Bonus Innovation Tracks
Extra funding and mentorship may be awarded to teams exploring:
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Music & Medicine: Sound, rhythm, and healing
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Legal-Tech Ethics: AI ethics, privacy, and consent
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Startup Simulation: Real-world pitch experiences and investor mentorship
Annual Humanics Symposium
Each year, funded teams share their discoveries through:
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TED-style student talks
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Live demonstrations and performances
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Industry panels and networking
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Music, creativity, and celebration of the human spirit
The Vision Ahead
This fund is more than philanthropy—it’s a movement toward a new model of education where:
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Disciplines collaborate instead of compete
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Students become human-AI translators
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Innovation happens at the intersection of head, heart, and algorithms
“In a world where machines can process information faster than humans, our competitive advantage lies in our ability to connect, create, and care.
This fund invests in that fundamentally human future.”
— Dr. Stephen Klasko
Join the Movement
Your gift to the Klasko Humanics Innovation Challenge Fund helps cultivate the next generation of creative, compassionate innovators.
Help Fairleigh Dickinson University become the place where impossible partnerships create inevitable breakthroughs.