Design thinking in higher education for promoting human-centered innovation in business and society

Funding

The project is over.

Engineering education! DoIT aims at introducing innovative design thinking interventions into entrepreneurial higher education towards preparing students to enter evolving economies by being adaptive, resilient, innovative, and creative and by possessing the practical entrepreneurial skills that will allow them to put ideas into action in business as well as social well-being contexts. The project targets the educational needs of students by introducing design thinking skill building activities that can be integrated into wide subjects and help learners understand the core design thinking concepts as well as explore its practical applications in diverse contexts. DoIT further targets the needs of educators by introducing instructor support content for integrating design thinking into learning by challenging students to generate new ideas and bring them into life.

DoIT helps modernize education by integrating emerging design thinking approaches towards building entrepreneurial skills desirable in the world of work, contributing to employability and sustainable growth through innovation. The project further contributes to active citizenship by empowering tomorrow’s professionals to apply their talents towards addressing social issues through entrepreneurial solutions, contributing to social well-being and cohesion. Finally, the project helps build the capacity of educational institutions and educators to adopt emerging design thinking methodologies through technology enhanced learning, enriching educational experiences and linking learning to educational objectives.

Outcomes:

  • An active learning framework for promoting design thinking entrepreneurial education through exploration, collaboration, and creativity
  • A proof-of-concept gamified learning environment that will expose students to design thinking underpinning concepts and help build practical skills
  • Educator support content for fostering the integration of proposed methodologies and tools into classroom practices towards promoting entrepreneurial student skills.

More information

tki-info [at] metropolia.fi (tki-info[at]metropolia[dot]fi)