A look at what happens when students visit Elon’s Center for Design Thinking to combine a class session with design thinking.
Design thinking is a way of thinking and acting. It involves finding and framing problems, listening to and creating with people, and learning what works by making and testing ideas. Though the basic concepts of design thinking are simple to learn and apply, practitioners find rich careers honing their skills and adapting to new challenges.
Students Can Apply What They’ve Learned in Many Scenarios
By providing students with a simple framework, design thinking allows them not only to tackle everyday challenges, but also gain a competitive edge over people who have not practiced a problem-solving process.
In exploring design thinking, Chadwell said he wanted to compare it to other frameworks, such as Ten Types of Innovation, a way of seeing innovation types and being more intentional about innovation strategy and tactics. Chadwell explained that the general structure of design thinking principles is beneficial because it applies to all areas of expertise, from sales to marketing to manufacturing, and that he plans to incorporate it into all the classes he teaches from now on.
“I believe the strength of design thinking is that is inclusive of all disciplines across campus, and does not necessarily require a business background to apply it to real-world issues,” he said. “I want my students to consider using design thinking as a tool they can apply to assure better solutions to problems or new product introductions.”
The Multidisciplinary Advantage
Design thinking is unique in how end users drive understanding and addressing the problem to be solved. Another way to look at design thinking is through the lens of empathy for the product or service beneficiary. Design thinking provides a coherent, step-by-step process for developing solutions based on beneficiary needs and behaviors. It helps design thinking practitioners create while maintaining the observant and detail-oriented actions that keep beneficiaries’ voices at the heart of things.
Chadwell said learning about design thinking has given him new resources he didn’t have at his disposal before, adding: “The Center for Design Thinking is a valuable asset for the university. It is my hope that it becomes a core part of what Elon University teaches and is known for across all colleges.”