While new trends consistently emerge in higher education, rarely is a movement as widely talked about as design thinking. Stanford University’s d.school, founded in 2005, is a well-known leader in the space. IDEO, an award-winning design and innovation company, introduced human-centered design to the corporate world decades ago. Since then, design thinking has grown into a worldwide movement. Indeed, even Harvard Business Review just proclaimed that “Design Thinking Comes of Age.”
Design thinking, an innovative approach to problem solving, places users at its core, prioritizing their perspectives and preferences through the use of soft skills such as empathy, creativity and communication. Because design thinking focuses on problem solving, a broadly applicable concept, the framework can be used by any industry looking to solve complex problems, from tech to consumer goods to, yes, higher education.
How can business schools use design thinking to engage students and better train graduates for a constantly changing world? For one, universities can utilize the framework to examine their own offerings, intensely analyzing their curricula and programs through the lens of their users — students. More broadly, the methodology could be used with advisory boards, within groups and teams, in academic centers — any situation in which an injection of innovation and change is needed.
Just as corporations implement a culture of design thinking to innovate on projects, it is also important for business school graduates to learn the tools of innovation on their most important project… their life. At the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business, we have created a first-year course that helps students craft a more fulfilling college experience through the design thinking methodology. Students, new to campus, are challenged to utilize emotional intelligence, critical thinking skills, and teamwork to analyze trade-offs and ultimately create a design plan that helps them get more out of their time at CU. They leave the course equipped with tools and resources to apply this same methodology across other courses and experiences.
The increasing complexity of technology and modern business demands creative problem-solvers with aptitudes for empathy, nonlinear thought and risk-taking. As business schools continue to advance their teaching methods and curriculum, skills in design-based thinking are becoming an important tool to prepare tomorrow’s business leaders.
Leeds School of Business Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affairs Al Smith will present Leeds design thinking course at the AACSB Associate Deans Conference in November.
