Abstract:

Identifying and implementing multidimensional and long-term governance changes requires professionals capable of mobilising societal groups with an interest in problem-solving and coordinating joint activities to achieve priority change objectives. For every modern organisation, regardless of the scale and scope of its activities and responsibilities, it is important to have a competent workforce of professionals who are able to deal with the complex challenges of the organisation's operations in a skillful, responsive and collaborative manner. The acquisition of multiple competences is achieved through various forms and methods of learning and competence development. Design Thinking method (DT method) - is a creative problem-solving methodology widely used in different activities. The main objective of the DT method is to enable organisations to respond innovatively to the multiple challenges faced by contemporary societies or groups of societies, and to cross-sectoral problems. DT enables a change in the traditional understanding of the decision-making process. The same objective is observed in the study process.
DT method emphasises a person-centred approach, creativity and seeing innovation in everyday life (Dunne, Martin, 2006; Nielsen, Stovang, 2015; Munyai, 2016; Wrigley, Straker, 2017). It is a method for co-creating and implementing innovations that involves creative and analytical skills and requires collaboration between different disciplines and activities; the creative process draws on engineering methods, while design combines them with artistic ideas, social science tools and insights from the business world. These are the main XXIst century skills which have to be developed while working with students.
The application of the method requires, first of all, specific skills (ethnography, behavioural science, communication, design, etc.). They enable students to break with established procedural rules, hierarchical and bureaucratic categories.
As DT method application is widely used in business organisations there are a lack of recipes or examples how it can be used successfully in study process.
The main aim of this paper is to identify and explain the possibilities and challenges of DT method application developing creativity in the study process. Using the case study method, the paper introduces the steps how DT method can be applied during the work with students in order to develop XXIst age skills. The main tasks to be solved are:
1) to present the scope of DT method;
2) to highlight the advantages of it;
3) to provide the example how to use DT method in study process with students;
4) present the most common opinions of students after the application of DT method. The paper could serve as good practice example for all lecturers.

Keywords:

Design Thinking method, creativity, study process, application of Design Thinking method.