Thais Costa
Design Thinking course
The Design Thinking course embodies Butterfly Works' human-centered and co-creative approach to problem-solving. This course is designed to empower partners and young people worldwide with the tools and mindset to embrace innovation through design thinking. With a vision to expand their global network, Butterfly Works initiated this course development as committed to sharing this methodology, fostering collaboration among design thinkers, and driving positive change in diverse contexts.
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My Role:
I co-developed the content and learning experience for the design thinking course, ensuring alignment with Butterfly Works' methodology and relevance for diverse audiences. I facilitated user testing sessions, gathering feedback that guided improvements to make the course engaging, effective, and accessible for global learners, ultimately enhancing its impact.
Company/ partners
Output
A design thinking course with a hands-on project-based learning approach
Location
Global
Date
2018
The design challenge
The need for a design thinking course emerged from our global project partners, who recognized the value of the participatory methods we use in our projects. In all our collaborations, we prioritize co-creation with stakeholders, users, and partners, and this experience sparked their interest in learning and applying design thinking principles to their own contexts. Our challenge then became clear: to design a course that would equip them with the skills to engage in meaningful, collaborative problem-solving processes.
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We approached the creation of this course with the same participatory mindset we advocate. Throughout the process, we actively involved our partners in user research, ideation, concept development, and user testing of prototypes, ensuring that their perspectives shaped the course at every stage. This collaborative approach not only enriched the course content but also strengthened its relevance and applicability to a wide range of contexts, ensuring it would resonate with diverse learners worldwide.
The outcome
The Design Thinking course offered a transformative learning experience that cultivated a mindset for solving complex social challenges. It equipped learners with creative problem-solving tools that centered on the needs and perspectives of the people they were designing for, ensuring a human-centred approach throughout the process. The course guided students through the Butterfly Works' methodology, which followed the core stages of design thinking: setting the scene, research, ideation, prototyping (create and test loop), and handover. Each step was designed to foster collaboration, critical thinking, and iterative refinement, empowering learners to address real-world issues effectively.
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As a result of this course, a diverse and growing network of highly qualified design thinking alumni emerged. These graduates became part of an active pool that was connected with solution seekers across the globe, creating a dynamic ecosystem of innovative thinkers ready to tackle social impact challenges worldwide.
