EMBEDDING CHANGEMAKER SKILLS AND SOCIAL INNOVATION INTO DESIGN STUDENT LEARNING
Year: 2021
Editor: Grierson, Hilary; Bohemia, Erik; Buck, Lyndon
Author: Schaber, Friedemann; Fakoussa, Rebecca; Redfern, Carys; Farrugia, Henrietta; Wright, Michael
Series: E&PDE
Institution: The University of Northampton, United Kingdom
Section: Innovation and Creativity in Design and Engineering Education
DOI number: 10.35199/EPDE.2021.55
ISBN: 978-1-912254-14-9
Abstract
Building on research on the interaction of business and design (Cox 2006), this paper discusses a casestudy of a UK based project to develop undergraduate students' future skills by collaborating on transitioning final major projects into start-up venture and commercialisation. Students will gain insights from different faculties and each other’s subject expertise using a variety of scheduled activities throughout the academic year to challenge and support them. The project will enhance the delivery of the current Changemaker Certificate. The learning for students includes 4 workshops with the possibility of new venture creation based on the new product development (NPD) methodology, student networking and applying their soft skills in a new context. How will students’ experience be captured? - The BSc and BA students will be observed at the commencement stage, during and after the experience to understand their personal development and identify key learnings through recording and documentation of activity. How will tutors’ reflections be collected? - Semi structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. Triangulation through focus group and feedback from wider project team and academics, reflecting on learning models in design engineering versus entrepreneurship/business model. In what ways is this project innovative? First full year interfaculty student experience due to multiple touchpoints and development current changemaker and social innovation. The project will use a new collaborative innovation method with students, building on literature, i.e. Gamestorming: a playbook for innovators, rulebreakers, and changemakers (Gray, Brown and Macanufo 2010) and Visual Thinking (Brand and Koene 2017). Develop competencies for a design team to lead in social innovation at HE level in a UK context by creating an iterative model that is determined through action learning with several feedback loops (Kolb, Polany, Cross). In addition to the cross-collaboration there are other outputs and deliverables: Outputs for students include the possibility of new venture creation based on the new product development (employment), student networking and applying their soft skills in a new context. • How will your project improve the student learning experience? Student meet interact network with new students in a safe, formal setting. Students experience other parts of university and develop stronger bond with University. Develop interpersonal skills and support mental health /changemaker skills / social innovation. Students address a social, environmental cultural or financial injustice, by contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals through the creation of ideas towards a new social venture.
Keywords: Collaboration, changemaker, cross-faculty