Abstract

This article unfolds the design thinking, co-creation, and project-based learning model developed and adopted by a group of international students from different cultures and backgrounds while working on projects with a real-world client. The study employs a critical participatory action research methodology and draws on research conducted on and through the program in documenting, questioning, together with stakeholder surveys and interviews. It discloses a “project-based learning” approach to explore how students co-create and act in different roles in the cycle of design thinking. The program has evolved from its manifestation as an international collaborating program to presenting a model for education, research, and practice in design innovation and experiential education. Design-driven innovation offers a provocative view of thinking and practice in today’s education. Some viable strategies, techniques, valuable learning processes, and outcomes are addressed and examined in this article.