Student Spotlight: Problem Solving for a Better Future
How the Master of Integrated Innovation for Products and Services (MIIPS) program helped Nisarg Doshi (MIIPS ‘24) become an innovator.
By Hannah Brelsford
When Nisarg is not cycling around Pittsburgh, you can find him in the classroom designing and 3D printing prototypes.
Nisarg Doshi completed his Mechanical Engineering degree in August 2023 in Mumbai, India. Soon after, he realized he wanted to complement his education with other disciplines, leading him to the Integrated Innovation Institute (iii), specifically, the Master of Integrated Innovation for Products and Services (MIIPS) program.
Through his many years of education, Nisarg has cultivated one thing: a passion for problem-solving.
Nisarg is all about “Solving the right problem and solving the problem right.”
The Fast Facts: A Summary of Nisarg’s Time in the MIIPS Program
In the Classroom 📚
- Widening his engineering lens to be a problem solver
- Working with individuals from different backgrounds to enrich his perspective on cross domain collaboration
Industry Experience📈
- Deal Sourcing Partner at 99 Tartans (Emerging Markets)
- Innovation Ventures Intern at Magna International
- Design Intern at Dassault Systemes Solutions Lab
What’s Next 🎓
- Looking to solve problems with a wider lens
- Further strengthening and widening his network
In the Classroom
While pursuing his undergraduate education, Nisarg found the projects he was working on to be less innovative and more monotonous. To change this, he and his classmates began participating in various product design competitions, where they realized something crucial was missing.
“Doing something as a mechanical engineer, creating a solution, that's one thing. Turning it into a market-ready product, something that can be sold, is another. There is a huge gap between them. That requires a lot of knowledge and expertise from the areas of business and design as well.”
Noticing a gap between his knowledge and the problems he wanted to solve, Nisarg knew he needed a bridge to integrate his previous knowledge with expertise from a new discipline.
“I didn’t want to let go of my roots completely, so I was excited when I came across this program at the intersection of engineering, design, and business.”
Nisarg noted that the interdisciplinary learning style of the iii is very different from his previous academic experience because of the project-based curriculum. He estimates that he’s worked on about 20 different teams throughout his time in the MIIPS program, gaining new perspectives and experience from each of them.
“It not only teaches you the core skills from those domains but also the interpersonal skills for how you deal with different kinds of teams and different kinds of people.”
The difference between his previous undergraduate education and current education is what Nisarg values because it has offered him a blend of his previous education with what he seeks in his future.
Industry Experience
When Nisarg came to Carnegie Mellon University, he got a strong exposure to the field of entrepreneurship which motivated him to join 99 Tartans, an angel investment network of CMU alumni for supporting startups founded by the larger CMU community.
Within his role at 99 Tartans, Nisarg looks over the deal sourcing side for emerging markets such as India, China, Singapore and UAE and evaluates investment opportunities in CMU founded startups from these regions. The MIIPS program has equipped him with a user-centric approach and perspective ingrained in design thinking, giving him his own unique selling point (USP) that he brings to 99 Tartans.
Nisarg furthered his industry experience with an internship this past summer (part of the MIIPS program) as an Innovation Ventures intern with the Technology Investments team at Magna International, a global Tier-1 Automotive Supplier. Through his work, he was able to get hands-on, real-world experience while also applying his learnings from the program to his role.
At Magna, Nisarg evaluated potential startups and technologies for the organization to invest in. He specifically looked at possible investment opportunities to explore if they held strategic advantage for the Magna beyond just financial gain. A crucial part of his role was to scope technologies ranging from AR/VR and Driver Monitoring Systems to Brain Computer Interaction to identify innovative technologies that can improve the in-vehicle experience for users.
Nisarg at his internship at Magna InternationalWhat’s Next
“I have been learning how to build my authentic story and develop meaningful networks that live over the years.”
Through his internships and involvement within the CMU Entrepreneurial community, Nisarg is hoping to leverage his experience and networks in his interest areas of additive manufacturing, design and corporate innovation.
As he moves closer to the next chapter of his journey, Nisarg is looking forward to stitching his learnings from the MIIPS program together with his Mechanical Engineering background to find a space within the industry after his graduation this fall.
While Nisarg is not 100% sure of what the future holds for him yet, he is just getting started.