Abstract:

The Honors College has a series of first year sequences each is composed of four three-hour courses (two in the fall and two in the winter) and each sequence is team taught. The authors teach one called Design Thinking for Social Product Innovation. For years, this sequence of courses used time to debate what was social, now the UNESCO 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are used, and it allows us to focus on the social product innovation process. In that process the Design Thinking model is used.

In the fall there are two courses and the time in September to early November is used in empathy. The class is made up of some of the best and the brightest entering the university. It is euro-descendant students from middle and upper middle-class families. There are a few exceptions of students from broken homes, or whose families have struggled. Further the university is located in the upper Midwest far from the coast and the excitement of other cultures. These students with few exceptions have no idea of the problems faced by many in the world. Thus, it takes quite some time to understand the problems that the goals are set to help resolve. In some cases, we can help them with experiencing things, carrying water a distance, trying different foods, discussions about violence, gender roles in other countries, the cost of going to school when the family needs wood or water.

As the class moves along the timeline of the first semester the students have to select a country from the bottom half of the economic pyramid on a global basis and one of the 2030 SDG’s. Students will choose a part of a goal and a segment of a country to work to try to develop a product that might help. For these students, the goals and the countries are both challenging experiences. They learn a lot trying to put together an empathy video, thanks to the internet. As they advance in the class many learn to talk with people in the country by What’s App.

The students having done empathy then move through the stages of the Design Thinking process as a problem-solving method. After empathy comes the problem definition or piece of a bucket that they want to work on. This is called sizing or making the problem small enough that you can work on it. Ideation occurs at the end of the first semester. In the winter, the students proceed through developing concepts, testing concepts, developing prototypes, testing prototypes and then develop a simplified business plan using the internationally known business model canvas. Throughout the full process of all four courses the assignments are focused on the SDGs in different ways.

Students have learned to try to get things in other languages including trying through translation services to use languages that might be used in a small group of countries or in part of a country. They also have learned to test to see if they are meeting SDGs with discussions on WhatsApp and other media. Technology can make learning about the SDG’s more engaging, and lead to a fuller comprehension of what is needed.

The presentation will be based around some of the major gates, or assignments for the process of the four courses as well as some of the class activities that are used to help make the six hours spent together fun, interesting, and exciting. One example is preparing meals from the different countries so that there is a world food tour as part of the class. Another is using the outdoor theater for creative exercises.

Keywords:

UNESCO 2030 SDGs, Design Thinking, Empathy, What’s APP.