Ela Ben-Ur

Ela Ben-Ur is an Adjunct Professor at Olin College of Engineering, where she has taught courses ranging from product design to life design since 2007. She is an academic partner actively developing the Innovators' Compass, a design thinking framework used globally in education and industry contexts.

• Education: BS (1997) and MS (1999) in Mechanical Engineering from MIT

Her research focuses on creating interdisciplinary tools that bridge design, innovation, and organizational growth. She has collaborated with institutions like MIT, Sloan, Babson, Dartmouth, and Harvard, while presenting at conferences such as SXSW EDU and the International Development Design Summit.

Ela's work emphasizes practical applications of design thinking across diverse sectors, including her co-founded Leadership Studio at IDEO and the development of the patented force-feedback laparoscopic surgery simulator during her MIT research assistantship.