Looking to develop new skills in a unique way of learning that you can add to your resume? Need hands-on experience with the community and want to learn the principles of design thinking?
We have just the program for you wildcats! Here at SECD, we offer a 7-week program that develops beyond entry-level skills and gives you a chance to work in a collaborative environment on a community project. Design Lab provides an opportunity to learn to solve problems using a creative way of thinking. This hands-on learning program will allow you to work together with other Wildcats to develop new ideas and address challenges in the community with other UofA students.
Students develop valuable skills like conducting research, analyzing data, leading and organizing a team, giving professional presentations, pitching ideas, and receiving/integrating feedback. This is a great opportunity for students who want to gain more experience working with their community, uniquely solving problems, and working in a student team.
While interviewing the director for this program, Eli Burke, he talks about the importance of developing these skills that can help you in the workplace and how it becomes an enriching learning experience.
“I believe Design Thinking is critical… especially at this point in students’ lives when they are trying to figure out who they are in the world… how they want to be in the world… Students learn how to work together on teams with people who are different from them. They come together from disciplines across campus and they bring their sort of rich, personal histories with them and those become emphasized as critical to the process of Design Thinking. Who students are is an asset to the process… how they have learned to navigate the world and how they have learned to problem solve in their own lives becomes an important part.”
-Eli Burke, Program Manager, Design Projects
This brings us to why students choose to participate in this program. Our office surveyed students that joined the Design Thinking program in Spring 2019 which had immense results correlating to their student success.
According to the student survey, 95% of participants said that they applied leadership skills that can be used to create change in the community, 100% said they utilized various strategies to navigate working in groups, and 92% said they developed public speaking skills.
Since this is such an important opportunity for our students, we highly encourage students of every major to participate because it is beneficial for career development. The principles of design thinking are useful no matter what background, major, or future career aspirations!
