IPE and Spread Design will be conducting a Design Thinking Workshop for 520 young leaders – the entire 2nd year PGDM class. IPE, known for excellence in social science research and management education, is embracing Design Thinking to prepare creative, resilient, and holistic leaders who can use this human-centered approach to navigate complexity, create new opportunity as industry and society prepares itself for a dynamic and disruptive future. Additionally, the program design integrates Spread’s unique design sense framework and the students take ownership and responsibility for a real world / on campus challenge, which can be converted into a substantial project.
With a 16 member team of Design Catalysts, a guest speaker from IKEA and other experts in sustainable design practices, the students will be exposed to different perspectives, possibilities and will work towards a tangible outcome over 3 days.
Design of the Program
Day 1 / Feel Trip
On the first day, students get introduced to the concept of Design Thinking, which is a creative, fluid, and iterative problem solving approach that has been adopted globally for creating new products, systems, services, and cultures. The process is brought alive through cases and innovation stories.
Students then start on their own Design Thinking journey through the on-campus design challenge. The challenge is to reimagine IPE as a Conscious Campus, incorporating principles of sustainability.
Students come up with Insights around potential challenges within the campus, and select key themes. Students then go on a ‘Feel Trip’, to sensitize themselves to people around them, potential users/ stakeholders, and to their surroundings. They come back, having walked a mile in the users’ shoes, with observations and insights about potential users, and use this newfound knowledge to develop Empathy Maps, a key tool in the Design Thinking process.
Leaders in the future not only need to be dynamic but also conscious. Hence, the idea of creating a Conscious Campus has to start with a genuine effort from each student!
Day 2/ Think Think Think
Great ideas are born out of unlikely concepts being connected to create new value. On Day 2, guest speakers will come in to open up minds and possibilities. From an IKEA India Team member sharing the company’s sustaina
Students then move to work-mode, coming up with lots of ideas and finally selecting one idea to take forward, basis the criteria: desirability, viability, and feasibility.
They bring their ideas alive visually through Ideascapes, a great tool for visual thinking and communication — expressing an entire idea much better than words alone could.
Great ideas are of no use if they’re not put into action. Students are introduced to the Prototyping Mindset through examples, tools, and methods — they’re encouraged to embrace failure and put the first version out there for feedback.
Day 3/ DO Day
On the final day, it’s all about the action! Teams will refine their prototypes, with additional inputs from experts, architects, and engineers.
Students iterate, validate, and refine their prototypes basis feedback from potential users and technical experts. Finally, even a great product won’t make it big if it doesn’t have a compelling story. Teams then work on presenting their narrative creatively – through a storyboard, film, or role-play.
Final presentations are evaluated basis the idea, the team, prototype, and the innovation quotient. Throughout the workshop, students will play the role of thinkers, doers, and evangelists – capturing the creative process and every artifact to then make a solid project proposal to be implemented on campus.
Building excitement
The verdant, scenic campus of IPE will transform into a pop-up design lab, abuzz with activity as students dive into the world of Design Thinking.
We look forward to working with PGDM students who will also become Creative and Empathetic Leaders! The Design Thinking program will nurture both creativity and critical thinking around complex challenges to develop core skills for the workplace of the fourth industrial revolution.
About IPE and Spread
IPE (www.ipeindia.org), with 54 years of rich history, is a leading management college in South India, and social science research center par excellence. IPE has been recognized as the only institute of its kind in the world on the floor of the UN. IPE has been on many consulting engagements and research task forces for the likes of The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, OECD, and ICPE.
Spread (www.spread.ooo) is a new-age, transdisciplinary design firm, at the intersection of design, technology, and learning. Spread creates brands, systems, immersive experiences, and develops learning methods, design-driven learning and even cultures. Through massive transformational projects, Spread enables the industry and leaders in governance to expand possibilities, by shaping disruptive ideas, businesses and brands.
Featured recently by YourStory for its unique Design Thinking methodology, Spread is an external design think tank and partner for private and public sector leaders to design, build, and spread their vision with skill, speed and imagination. It adopts virtual reality, augmented reality and drone technology to deliver projects.