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Design Thinking for Sustainable Development

Learn how to use Design Thinking principles to develop innovative and user-centric solutions to complex issues of sustainability.

2,157 enrolled on this course

Working creatively

Improve your decision-making skills

To tackle the global-scale problems of sustainability, we need original and creative solutions.

On this four-week course, you’ll discover how you can use the Design Thinking methodology for a human-centred problem-solving approach.

You’ll build confidence in your decision-making as you use Design Thinking techniques to overcome barriers in sustainability, with a focus on the people you are trying to help.

This course allows you to experience how Design Thinking works in a safe environment, before implementing these techniques to help develop sustainable solutions.

Explore the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

You’ll be introduced to the SDGs before choosing one to conduct high-level research to help you solve a sustainability challenge.

This practical exercise will help you understand effective techniques such as creating meaning from interview and secondary data and how to expand ideation.

Learn from the experts at Wintec

Guided by the specialists at Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), you’ll learn to identify each stage of the Design Thinking process to help you understand which stage a project is in.

By the end of the course, you’ll feel confident in your decision-making skills to help you develop solutions that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and other areas of social good.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Design Thinking and Empathy

    • Aidan Bigham - your facilitator

      Introduction to the course

      To start with, lets find out a little bit about the course facilitator, Aidan Bigham, and what the course will cover.

    • Design Thinking Process

      Design Thinking and Sustainability goals

      This section will introduce you to the Design Thinking process and the 5 stages: Empathy, Define, Ideate, Prototyping and User Testing. We'll also introduce the Sustainability Goals as a topic to investigate using the process.

    • Empathy interviewing

      Empathy

      The first stage of the design thinking process is Empathy. In this stage we collect research from secondary sources and data from interviews and observations. This is a DIVERGENT stage.

    • Shadowed signposts with a sunset behind them to symbolise reflective thinking

      Reflection

      Reflect on your learning in Week 1 and see what is in store for Week 2.

  • Week 2

    Define and Ideate

    • The Define stage is the second stage of the Design Thinking process

      The Define Stage

      How do you make sense of data? Especially interview data? The Define stage helps us do this.

    • Design Thinking stage defined

      The Ideation Stage

      Now that we have clearly defined our challenge we can move into the Ideation stage.

    • The design thinking process with Define and Ideate Highlighted

      Reflection of Define and Ideation

      What have we learnt about these two processes?

  • Week 3

    Prototype and User Test

    • Prototyping is the fourth stage of the Design Thinking Process

      Introducing Prototyping

      Prototyping is the fourth stage of the Design Thinking process - though we tend to iterate back and forth with User Testing. In this stage we are building a representation of our idea to gather feedback from our users.

    • User testing is the fifth stage of the Design Thinking Process

      User Testing

      User testing is the fifth stage of the design thinking process and is usually in iteration with prototyping. In this stage we test with our users to improve, refine, validate or throw out our ideas!

    • Design Thinking Process with Prototyping and User Testing Highlighted

      Reflection

      Reflect on your learning in Week 3

  • Week 4

    Refine and Reflect

    • Typewriter writing review

      Refine and Communicate

      Lets see how we can communicate our solution back to the stakeholders

    • Shadowed signposts with a sunset behind them to symbolise reflective thinking

      Reflection's and next steps

      Congratulations and well done

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone wanting to explore how Design Thinking can be used to drive sustainable change.

This course will help you experience the full process of the methodology and show you how Design Thinking can be applied to any business and role.

Who will you learn with?

Aidan Bigham

I am a Principal Academic Staff member at WINTEC with 20 years experience in tertiary education. Most recently I have been successfully leading Design Thinking teams in solving industry challenges.

Who developed the course?

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Wintec

The Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) is a leading tertiary education provider and one of New Zealand’s largest Institutes of Technology. Established in 1924, Wintec delivers technical, vocational, and professional education across a broad range of qualifications, domestically and internationally.

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Te Pūkenga

Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology is the New Zealand governmental network of 16 subsidiary tertiary education providers, which were formerly known as institutes of technology and polytechnics. The network delivers world class professional, vocational, and applied learning from certificate through to PhD level.

What's included?

This is a premium course. These courses are designed for professionals from specific industries looking to learn with a smaller group of like-minded individuals.

  • Unlimited access to this course
  • Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes
  • Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you're eligible
  • Download and print your Certificate of Achievement anytime

Still want to know more? Check out our FAQs

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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