Grand Valley State University will take the next step in its Design Thinking Initiative program in the academic year of 2015-2016 with a new class, “Design Thinking to Meet Real World Needs” (LIB 323).

John Berry, Design Thinking Initiative director, explained that design initiative is very important at GVSU because the educational institution is located in a design centric region – many local companies are focused on design as a source of business.

“Design thinking is not about designing a product,” Berry said. “It’s about collaborating with others to find real solutions to real problems. We need students to understand and experience what design initiative thinking is. We have a very complex world where collaboration is very important.”

Berry said the program, which is the first of its kind in the state, was inspired by his own personal passion.

“Design is on my backbone,” he said. “It was my experiences in the worlds of design and business that led me to recognize the importance of having a design thinking initiative in life.”

The class will focus on bringing together students from across multiple academic disciplines to find real solutions to real problems.

“The most creative solution is the result of dissimilar disciplines working on shared conception of a problem,” Berry said. “When you get a group like philosophy, engineering, anthropology and other disciplines together, you will get some very creative results. That’s exciting high energy.”

Berry added that the introduction of a class to GVSU is a step in the right direction for the Design Thinking Initiative, but he has many more plans to implement this thinking and educate both students and faculty. He is currently working with staff to develop opportunities for faculty to gather experience of design thinking.

There are current plans in the works to create workshops for the purpose of educating faculty in design thinking, Berry said. He also said his dream for design thinking at GVSU would culminate with an on-campus center where any students from any discipline or year across campus could come to find out more about design thinking and how it may relate to their future as a student and young professional.

Danielle Lake, professor of Liberal Studies, will co-teach LIB 323 with Linda Chamberlain. Lake’s educational background in public and engaged philosophy and studies in the nature of real world needs gives her a great foundation to teach the new class, Berry said.

“LIB 323 is an issues course in the information, innovation and technology category,” Lake said. “It is applicable and valuable for all GVSU undergraduate juniors and seniors. This process is currently highly valued and sought after by both local and international organizations. It is also an SWS (Supplemental Writing Skills) course, so students will be able to receive credit toward this General Education requirement as well.”

Lake explained that the syllabus of the class will focus on students’ abilities to work with others to solve a real world problem in Michigan. Students will be expected work with the local community, bringing their own disciplinary expertise, values and experiences to class. The problems tackled may vary each semester depending on the students, faculty or local needs.

She added that the class would be different compared to other, more traditional classes in terms of not only teaching, but also grading.

“Action, reflection and revision become major components of a course like this,” Lake said. “We no longer assume we got it right the first time through. Instead, we embrace a more open stance of humility and seek out the advice of others by putting our initial ideas to the test; then we rework and refine our ideas, again and again, if necessary.”

To find out more about the Design Thinking Initiative, visit www.gvsu.edu/designthinking/. 

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