VR

Design Thinking Workshops

Co-facilitated Design Thinking workshops at multiple universities as a UIF team, impacting over 5,000 students through hands-on sessions on empathy, ideation, and prototyping.

2023 — 2024Design ThinkingWorkshopsEducationLeadership

Overview

As University Innovation Fellows, our team designed and ran Design Thinking workshops at multiple universities, reaching over 5,000 students. The format was entirely hands-on. Students picked real problems, talked to real users, and built prototypes in under two hours.

With the UIF cohort at Stanford's d.school

Workshop Format

Each workshop followed the Stanford d.school's five-stage design thinking process:

  1. Empathize by conducting rapid interviews and observation exercises to understand real user needs
  2. Define by synthesizing research into clear problem statements using empathy maps and "How Might We" framing
  3. Ideate through brainstorming with techniques like crazy eights, mind mapping, and SCAMPER
  4. Prototype by building low-fidelity prototypes using paper, cardboard, and digital tools
  5. Test by presenting prototypes to peers for feedback and iterating in real-time

Scale & Reach

  • Ran workshops across multiple universities as a team
  • Reached over 5,000 students from different academic backgrounds
  • Adapted the content for different audiences, from first-year undergrads to graduate students
  • Trained student facilitators so the program could continue without us
Workshops across universities and the Stanford d.school

What I Learned

Running these workshops taught us as much as it taught the participants. There's something satisfying about watching a room full of students go from "I don't know where to start" to arguing over prototype details in under two hours. It also changed how I think about building things. I start with the user's problem now, not the technology. That habit came from standing in front of 200 students and having to explain why empathy comes before ideation.