Course Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of the course is to provide students with the necessary knowledge, tools, and experience to understand Design Thinking. Design thinking is an iterative problem-solving process of discovery, ideation, and experimentation that employs design-based techniques to gain insight and yield innovative solutions for virtually any type of organizational or business challenge, prominently including those within public services. The course aims to allow the students to unpack each step of the design thinking process and become familiar with the design thinker's toolkit. Students will engage in developing skills as ethnographers, visual thinkers, strategists, and storytellers by applying the theoretical part of this course to real life case studies. In the practical part of the course the method of Design Sprints both in online and offline environments will be utilized. Students will learn how and why the design sprint process is so effective, and why it is become so integral to the success of so many leading companies. Students will learn how a design sprint works, how to participate in one, and how to lead one themselves.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Apply the theory of Design Thinking to design challenges of any nature yet organize the use of a variety of Design Thinking methods.

Appraise the principles of Design Thinking and the guidelines of the Design Sprint Framework, but also assess the use of available tools and adapt the methods to various Design Sprint settings.

Practice different ideation techniques and methods to empathize with users and stakeholders.