Chippewa Valley Times

UW-Stout's packaging program and UW-Eau Claire's nursing faculty are working together to enhance patient safety, sustainability, and efficiency. The collaboration between Program Director Min DeGruson and Professor Charlotte Sortedahl has received a 2024 UW Innovation Grant for their proposal titled "Driving Innovation and Value in Education Through Collaboration of Nursing and Packaging Students and Professionals: DRIVE Initiative."

The project builds on a partnership started in 2023, involving engineering and nursing students in improving the packaging of sterilized medical devices. The goal is to develop educational materials and packaging kits that could be implemented across all UW nursing programs.

The grant provides seed funding of up to $175,000 over two years. UW-Stout's Chancellor Katherine Frank expressed satisfaction with the recognition of their expertise in packaging engineering. "Through this interdisciplinary work with UW-Eau Claire’s nursing program, our collaboration is positioned to better prepare the health care workers of tomorrow through practices that will improve care in Wisconsin, throughout the nation and across the world," she said.

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman highlighted the innovative nature of bringing together nursing and engineering students. "Ultimately, this work could generate better patient outcomes in Wisconsin and across the nation," he stated.

The proposal is one of three awarded a UW Innovation Grant. Progress reports will provide updates on status, completed work, and future research plans. A review panel will select a "big idea" winner from this year's finalists for additional funding up to $400,000 over three years.

According to Career Services' First Destination Report, graduates from the packaging program have a 100% employment or further education rate within one year after graduation. UW-Stout is among few U.S. schools offering a B.S. in packaging.

In related news, packaging students recently won an international competition sponsored by Kellanova to redesign Pringles' packaging. Their tube design took first place against teams from various countries including Canada, Germany, and the UK.

Students also excelled in other competitions such as the Paperboard Packaging Alliance student competition and Institute of Packaging Professionals’ challenges with designs like a Modular E-commerce Box.

Last fall saw visits from USDA Under Secretary Alexis Taylor and Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Randy Romanski at UW-Stout exploring sustainable packaging innovations. Research efforts included biodegradable mushroom mycelium for protective packaging as well as projects aimed at meeting Amazon's and Target's standards for sustainable protective solutions. Interdisciplinary collaborations involved food science technology programs working on sustainable cheese packaging using cranberry pomace for edible options.