Challenge
How does Design thinking work in practice?
Ashoka University offers a course on Creativity and Design thinking as a part of their Entrepreneurship department. The course is designed to help students understand the core elements of human-centered design and creative thinking in problem-solving.
As a part of the course, dVan conducted a session on the practical application of Design Thinking. The workshop used everyday things, things that we observe around ourselves to help students connect the design of objects to usability and user preferences. The workshop also introduced the class to real-life case studies of Design thinking projects undertaken by dVan.
Challenge
Introducing Design thinking and innovation to students at IIT Delhi.
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is one of the Twenty Three IITs created to be Centres of Excellence for training, research and development in science, engineering and technology in India. The entrepreneurship and business department of IIT Delhi wanted to introduce its students to Design thinking.
Through a 2 hour workshop, students were introduced to the importance of Design thinking, the theory of design process and a practical experience of designing solutions to complex problems. Students also participated in creative thinking exercises.
Challenge
Introducing Design thinking and innovation to students at the Naropa Fellowship.
The Naropa Fellowship is a one-year, fully-residential, post-graduate, academic programme focused on creating and nurturing agents of change who will work towards fostering an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and growth while preserving the cultural heritage of Ladakh and the Himalayan region. We worked with their students to help them include Design thinking and Innovation in their projects.
Through a 2-day workshop, students experienced a Design sprint and understood the entire design journey from research to product development. These solutions were further tested by the students with the specific audiences in Ladhak.
Challenge
How might we co-create a new approach towards learning in the 21st century with school students?
A new Montessori school in Potsdam, Germany wished to co-create new learning methodologies that would enable students to learn critical 21st century skills within the parameters set by the curriculum. We participated in the project as facilitators that represented HPI School of Design Thinking.
Through a series of workshops, we were able to establish a co-working relationship between high school students and teachers. At the end of these workshops, the school had created its own distinct teaching curriculum based on student needs and faculty participation
Challenge
How might we teach Design thinking principles to high school students?
Project MyNT - My Next Thing, aims at evolving the current education ecosystem by making practical knowledge and interest levels as major contributors to one's career choice. We seek to provide the greatest “value-add” to students with real-world knowledge and experience to help them make better career choices. MyNT gives students an insight into careers therby helping them choose.
Through the workshop, students were introduced to key skills of human centered design. The workshop helped students them think like designers and understand how real-world problems are solved using the design process.
Challenge
How should a hospitality school in India position itself for the students?
Indian School of Hospitality is a higher education institution training students in Hospitality. With a state-of-the-art campus and experienced faculty, their program gives students real skills to understand and excel in the Hospitality sector, beyond hotels. They wanted to explore a brand positioning for themselves.
Through a workshop, we helped the management, students and faculty come together and create new ideas to collaborate and build a unique positioning for the school.
Challenge
How do we help school teachers introduce art in their classrooms using Design thinking?
Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar is a highly reputed, CBSE School based out of New Delhi. With a legacy of innovative interventions in the curriculum and an openness to try new methods of education, the School wanted to empower teachers to use more creative, inter-disciplinary ways to introduce concepts in class. Could Math and Music be taught together? Can History and Chemistry be combined? Especially with the recent emphasis placed by CBSE on integrating art forms with regular curriculum - the school wanted to experiment with new possibilities.
Through a workshop, teachers of different subjects and grades came together to create prototypes of such compelling and multi-disciplinary education modules.
Challenge
With the COVID-19 staring in our faces, how do we design Public Policy in a manner that is more inclusive and responsive to crisis?
Citizens for Public Leadership is an independent, non-partisan movement focused on advocating progressive Public Policy in India. The COVID-19 crisis has presented new challenges in Public Policy while highlighting existing gaps. Through a workshop on Design and Policy, we worked with the fellows to help them understand and create frameworks that allow them to use Human-centered design principles when designing policies with the goal of making future policies more inclusive and responsive.