HC.T/ human-centered technology

// an open experiment in how business students learn technology

Technology is not the protagonist. People are.

HumanCentered is Matt Brady’s program at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Students learn AI, low-code and CRM by building for real people, and every course starts with the people before it gets to the tools.

Find your courseSee student work

// the human-centered stack

What do you want to walk out with?

Pick a goal, or tap a layer of the stack. People sit on top; the tools come last.

People · BAIM 4230A career working with customersDecisions · WorkshopA better way to make hard callsProblems · BAIM 3300A startup idea, tested in JapanTools · BAIM 3210A working app, with no coding background
01 · BAIM 4230PeopleWho are we serving, and what do they need?02 · WorkshopDecisionsWhat matters most, and how will we choose?03 · BAIM 3300ProblemsWhich problem is worth solving, and for whom?04 · BAIM 3210ToolsWhat can we build, fast, without writing code?

layer 01 · People · BAIM 4230

Customer Success with Salesforce CRM

You walk out with: Salesforce skills from Trailhead, a CRM project practicum, and prep for the Salesforce Certified Administrator exam.

proof → At the first challenge in 2021, students built a donor-management CRM for the nonprofit A Precious Child.

Register for BAIM 4230 (opens CU class search in a new tab)Course page: Customer Success with Salesforce CRM

This program gave me the tools to create a usable prototype and present it in front of a board.

— Build in Japan™ participant, 2026

// proof

Credit where it’s due.

Student teams made these as part of a course or challenge. The ideas and the work are theirs; we just like to brag about them.

See all the proof →
  1. 2026ProblemsAnshin Care takes first place in Nagoya.A pill dispenser and caregiver app for older patients, from a CU and Nagoya University team. Leeds covered it (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2026ProblemsFive teams pitch at Nagoya University.Kizuki Care, Akira Care, Kizuna Village, Anshin Care and Kizuna, each aimed at Japan’s aging society.
  3. 2025PeopleAbundant Ground maps church land for housing.A CU team’s web app uses GIS data to find underused church property that could become affordable housing. It competed for a $4,000 bounty.
  4. WorkshopDecisions“I feel much better prepared.”Nick, a student at DECIDE BETTER®, one of five sold-out workshops.

// ratings

Student ratings, published by CU, not by us.

  • Innovative Teaching Award (Balkin & Barnow), 2025
  • Leeds AI Teaching Excellence Challenge Grants, twice
  • Gillespie Award
  • Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Faculty Ambassador
Open CU’s dashboards →
CU Boulder FCQ averages · out of 5 fall 2021 – spring 2026 spring 2026
CU Boulder FCQ averages, out of 5
GroupFall 2021 – spring 2026Spring 2026
Matt Brady’s courses4.564.64
CU Boulder4.384.40
Leeds4.344.33

93% of Matt’s spring 2026 students responded. The scale is zoomed to 4.2–4.8 so small gaps are visible.

baim 3300 · spring 2027

Build in Japan™

AI & Mobility for Tomorrow’s Societies, with Nagoya University teammates. 15 days in Tokyo and Nagoya, May 14–28.

early bird ends in December · final deadline in February

Register for spring (opens in a new tab)

fall 2026 sprint

Colorado Impact Challenge™

It started here in 2021 as the Low-Code Hackathon. Now student teams from CU Boulder and Colorado School of Mines solve real problems for partner organizations.

happening now · through Nov 9

Go to the Challenge (opens in a new tab)
Matt Brady

// who runs this

Matt Brady is an ASST Teaching Professor at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business and the founder and CEO of Volley Solutions™. He runs HumanCentered as an open experiment in how business students learn technology.

with: Leeds School of Business · Nagoya University · Ludus Labs · CU Innovation & Entrepreneurship · Colorado School of Mines · Nintex · Salesforce · Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative