Executive Education

Design Thinking

Programme Overview

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A human centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer’s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology and the requirements of business success - Tim Brown

 

Design Thinking is an innovative approach to address intractable problems that businesses face. One of the key elements of Design Thinking is its human centered approach that has revolutionized a range of industries from technology to services, health care to urban planning and beyond. Design Thinking not only supports but also enhance business strategy of companies across sectors.

 

Design Thinking utilizes empathy and careful observation to engage with challenges that have, in the past, escaped even a clear definition. This leads to new possibilities which are then prototyped and tested leading to creative solutions. The Design Thinking approach has been found particularly useful for companies looking to solve ‘wicked problems’ that are difficult to define and on which past data does not help.

 

A highlight of this program is the Design Sprint. Participants will identify a problem, analyze challenge areas around it and gather key insights. They will then- via multiple cycles of convergent and divergent thinking-ideate and brainstorm to formulate a point of view. Finally, with the aid of visualization techniques and story-telling, participants will operationalise their ideas into specific solutions.

 

The programme includes discussions around some of the most contemporary concepts in the field of innovation and aims at assuring that participants are well-versed with latest tools and techniques that can be used to solve a large variety of challenging problems.

 

For more information or any questions, contact Rahul Gupta: rahul-exed@iima.ac.in | +91 87588 00397

Programme Chairperson

Participants’ Profile

•    Senior management charged with accelerating innovation in their organisations •    Strategy heads looking for a source of competitive advantage •    Designers who want to rejuvenate and hone their existing skills •    Managers and entrepreneurs aiming  to grow their businesses  

Program Objectives

•    To understand the process of Design Thinking for nurturing innovation •    Learn how to be both analytical and creative in order to generate solutions for challenging problems •    Inculcate a unique methodology to solve ‘wicked problems’  

Program Highlights

Strengths of the programme

Focus on successful Design Thinking approaches adopted by world class organisations to achieve and sustain a competitive  advantage. Guided by experienced faculty with global expertise Hands on exercise to equip participants with latest tools and techniques in Design Thinking

 

Topics

What is Design Thinking and how does it differ from conventional approaches to problem solving? How can creative approaches like storytelling, visualization and journey mapping enable solutions to often intractable business problems? How can the Design Thinking process address complex problems across a wide spectrum? How do you discover new business models using Design Thinking cycles?

 

Programme Highlights

Vision in the Dark: activities undertaken in pitch darkness where participants learn to empathize with the visually challenged while enhancing other  senses. An intense Design Sprint where participants, in pre-assigned teams, will identify a group problem and work on finding solutions by techniques like visualization, journey mapping, concept development, etc.
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