Group Size
?
1.) Small group (teams of 4-6)
2.) Individual Task
3.) Large Group
4.) Any
Small group (teams of 4-6)
Learning Environment
?
1.) Lecture Theatre
2.) Presentation Space
3.) Carousel Tables (small working group)
4.) Any
5.) Outside
6.) Special
Carousel Tables (small working group)
QAA Enterprise Theme(s)
?
1.) Creativity and Innovation
2.) Opportunity recognition, creation and evaluation
3.) Decision making supported by critical analysis and judgement
4.) Implementation of ideas through leadership and management
5.) Reflection and Action
6.) Interpersonal Skills
7.) Communication and Strategy
1Creativity and Innovation
6Interpersonal Skills
Introduce students to a process to follow when generating ideas/innovation (Design Thinking).
Students will learn more about members in their team (improving team communication and dynamics).
Introduce students to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as avenues for ideas (in keeping with institution aims).
This module has been run for many years previously and it is well known that generating ideas is a problem for the students involved. The reasons for this are unclear but typically in their degree experience this will be the first time that students will have such flexibility, by identifying a problem, proposing a solution, etc. Based on this an ideation session in the second week of the course has been implemented to facilitate members of teams getting to know each other better as well as being guided through design thinking so they have a method to follow generating their ideas.
The students are first introduced to the concept of Design Thinking as an iterative process that has different stages as detailed by the Design Council [1]. Each stage is then explained to the students, relating it back to what you do within it, so it is grounded in practical application and not solely theory based. The double diamond approach is then introduced to them as a framework to explore a problem and to develop a solution. This utilises resources from the Design Council [2]. The purpose of this is to give the students a process to follow when starting to ideate on possible problems and solutions they might work on within the module.
At this point since there has been a substantial period of talking and information the students are asked to breakout into their teams (can require a big space) to talk to each other and get to know each member. This is used as an opportunity for them to first identify problems, based on their own individual experiences, such as hobbies, work experience, family, and friends, etc. This stage also facilitates the students getting to know each other but with a purpose and guided conversation. To make it more interactive and raise energy levels it works to have teams standing and using post-its to stick their identified problems on a wall. Students are given a limited time for this to ensure their conversations maintain focus.
Students may struggle to identify problems, so now the UN SDGs [3] can be introduced to frame their conversation around identifying problems in a completely different way that is maybe not centred upon their lived experiences (which might be similar or limited). Furthermore, some key examples of the SDGs can be examined since they are quite broad and general, for instance how they relate back to current government funding [4]. It should also be noted that students either have access to their phones or laptops throughout this session so they can do some quick research about SDGs as well. The students are then given some extra time to evaluate problems relating to SDGs that they are interested in or can relate to. To allow greater incorporation of the UN SDGs these could be introduced to the students previously or have student teams assigned problem areas that relate to the SDGs via government funding listed in [4].
After this the students are guided to converge on a problem by evaluating each of them problems, they have identified against each other. This might present common themes and reframe their thinking. However, all problems on the post-its are kept in case they revisit this stage in the future (highlighting that it is iterative). Furthermore, the students are now asked to come up with possible solutions to the problem, which can be highly imaginative with no-limits and should positive to encourage creativity. This will follow a similar process then afterwards on having the students start to converge on a solution that might utilise different aspects of multiple solutions they have thought of.
From this point the session can then switch back to presenting, explaining that in reality this process can take many iterations of each diamond before landing on a plausible problem and solution. Equally, they should be speaking to other feedback that it impacts for feedback if possible. If there is longer time, they can then look at how others “solved” the problem and then converge back to their idea or refine it more
The impact was significant as the students involved enjoyed the practical nature as previously, they were concerned about how they should come up with ideas with no guidance. In subsequent sessions with students this session can then be referred to as a reminder for a process they should follow. Several teams quickly adapted to it and found common problems they were passionate about and quickly got working on their idea and how that can translate to a business, much faster than what would happen in previous iterations of the module. Students that find ideation a more difficult or challenging task but enjoy having a process to follow, enjoy the guidance this framework gives. This can be adapted or refined in the future if there is to be a greater more targeted focus on the UN SDGs [3], [4], whereby the Systemic Design Framework launched by the Design Council could be utilised [5].
• Post-its or similar sticky pads. • Pens.
• Screen to present.
• Phones/laptops.
[1] “What is design thinking?,” The Interaction Design Foundation. [Online]. Available: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/design- thinking. [Accessed: 01-Mar-2023].
[2] “Framework for Innovation: Design Council's evolved double diamond,” Design Council, 17-May-2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/skills-learning/tools-frameworks/framework-for-innovation-design-councils-evolved-double-diamond/. [Accessed: 01-Mar-2023].
[3] “The 17 goals | sustainable development,” United Nations. [Online]. Available: https://sdgs.un.org/goals. [Accessed: 21-Feb-2023].
[4] “Innovation competitions,” Innovation competitions - Innovation Funding Service. [Online]. Available: https://apply-for-innovation- funding.service.gov.uk/competition/search. [Accessed: 01-Mar-2023].
[5] “Beyond net zero: A systemic design approach,” Design Council, 22-Apr-2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/skills- learning/tools-frameworks/beyond-net-zero-a-systemic-design-approach/. [Accessed: 01-Mar-2023].
