Fifteenth International Conference on Design Principles & Practices

Abstract

The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that by 2030 the labor force will increase 8.9 million, and as many as 14% of the overall workforce will switch occupations or acquire new skills due to technology and changing employers’ needs. As students’ tuition and attendance costs continue to climb, they are increasingly focused on education that will give them the competencies needed to meet employers’ needs and maximize future incomes. In an attempt to address the skills gap and the growing chorus of political, economic, and social concerns, higher education pursues differing experiential, entrepreneurial, and service-learning approaches of education with mixed success due to lack of faculty change readiness, leadership, and organizational commitment. Despite their unique ecosystems, many of the innovation obstacles faced by universities mirror those in the private sector, and therefore their solutions can be as well. Over the past thirty years, design thinking, as a process, a way of knowing, and an organizational tool have been used to address and overcome cultural values, norms, and assumptions and transform and develop innovation and performance practices. This paper examines how design thinking and its problem-framing can help higher education pursue new pedagogical practices to address students’ needs and impending skills-gap. Questions investigated include: Could adopting design thinking practices help to facilitate positive change?; How can design and “designerly” ways of knowing inform pedagogical and internal structures to equally and equitably promote education that affirms and empowers students’ personal development while addressing their current and future employment needs?