Using Design Thinking To Improve Universities

Design “Design is how you put together what you have to deliver the value that you want” Edward De Bono

Design is not about features or looks but about solving problems. When problems are solved, the University gets better. And when the University gets better, everyone gets better.

The University exists to carry out teaching, research and community services, thereby contributing meaningfully to the social, economic, cultural, political, scientific and technological development of the nation. But in practice, the University is far from achieving its purpose and performing the right function too.

Universities are supposed to be value creators for society and industry, influencing how things are done in the society. Someone wrote that “Universities are supposed to impact high-level skills to a reasonable proportion of the workforce, developing the intellectual capability of individuals, engaging in training of competent, honest, patriotic and responsible professionals needed virtually in all spheres of human endeavors.”

Designing thinking is a design methodology that is built around working with stakeholders to develop solutions to problems. It can help Universities systematically extract, teach, learn and apply human-centered approach to solve problems in a creative and innovative way. This methodology has been adopted by Apple, Google, Samsung, and GE.

Design thinking revolves around a deep interest in understanding people and their needs. It is an understatement if we say the University doesn’t have a problem. Having that assumption will never let anyone try anything to change the way education is delivered and make University education better.

The University needs to adopt the human-centric approach of design thinking and start solving its problems with humans in mind. First, its students and then secondly industry that it serves. The problems of the University can be re-framed around its stakeholders or beneficiaries in a student-centric, society-centric and industry-centric way.

To solve the problems of the University, we must change the way we think about the University. We must question the original purpose of the University and then break it down to understand whether it will meet the needs of the future. If not a change will be required.

To come up with that new definition, the University will have to observe and understand the needs and behaviors of her students, the society it is resident in and the industry it is serving. From the insight gained from observing its beneficiaries, a new purpose for the University can be developed which revolves around meeting the needs of its beneficiaries. What is the use of the University if it doesn’t understand the needs of students, society, and industry? It will churn out students who have outdated knowledge and don’t have what it takes to make the society and industry better.

When the University improves and become better, its students will become better and the society and industry will also get better. Industries are having a challenge not because of the economy but because Universities are not meeting their needs. But of course, the Universities don’t even understand what those needs are and don’t care.

How To Improve The University

Start From People & Move To Courses: The University should not just develop courses & programs based on whims and ego but on the needs of their students, industry, and society. They have to make an in-depth study of what the passion and talent of their students are, the challenges industry and society are having and them marry them together.

Students Equipped To Solve Problems For Industry: Universities need to observe industry and understand the kind of skills that are needed to help industry design new products and service, enter new markets, scale and make the greatest impact, then train and equip students in partnership with industry.

Train For Culture Fit: Industry waste a lot of money in the job application and interview process and they do more when the employ wrong people. The University can disrupt that and reduce or even eliminate those hidden costs. The University needs to know the culture of industry and them equip its students to fit in. For instance, students studying engineering should not just learn engineering skills but be trained in the culture of a company so that they can fit. The industry needs people who fit their culture and not just those who have skills and knowledge.

Understand the Connection of Things: The University needs to understand that it is not a closed system, but that everything is connected. The output of the University feeds the input of industry and society. And if society and industry are not getting better, the University will suffer. We are all connecting. Adopting system thinking and design thinking will help the university greatly. Understanding the connections of things will help the University to follow a system approach in designing its purpose to become relevant to industry and society.