What happens when six Lehigh students majoring in business, engineering, and design come together? They develop a product that has the potential to improve women’s safety all over the world.  

Soterra is a versatile, reliable, and cost-effective device that uses Bluetooth mesh networking technology and GPS to promote the safety of women. Soterra allows women who live in high-violence regions to discreetly contact friends, family, or the police when they feel threatened. 

The student team put their skills to work to develop Soterra—one of five finalists in the esteemed Anu and Naveen Jain Women’s Safety Prize global competition. Throughout the competition, the team traveled to Mumbai, India and the United Nations headquarters. Their success would not have been possible without support from the Rossin College Experiential Learning Fund, which through the generosity of donors provides opportunities for students to apply their classroom lessons to real-world concepts.

Michael Wu ’20, member of the Soterra team, thinks that experiential learning and an interdisciplinary mindset have been crucial factors in his Lehigh experience:

“For my views on entrepreneurship, engineering, and experiential learning, I view entrepreneurship as a vessel that allows students to apply their mind to real life situations using the foundation established by college courses. Entrepreneurship opens up the opportunity to continue learning about not only abstract, innovative concepts, but also acts as a catalyst for personal growth and self-reflection. It allows you to realize the immensity of human capability through the people you meet, and the accomplishments they have achieved. I believe that experiential learning and entrepreneurship should be essential keystones in any engineer’s path to success as it fosters unbound curiosity.” 

GO: The Campaign for Lehigh champions hands-on learning experiences that equip our students for the careers of tomorrow. Learn more at gocampaign.lehigh.edu.