I.
Introduction to Design Thinking ● Problems you solve are not yours
but your users’.
Design Thinking is a human-centered,
iterative, and collaborative process for ● Observing people’s behaviors
solving complex problems. It focuses on uncovers needs and pain points.
understanding users’ needs and creating
innovative solutions through empathy, ● Engaging directly provides
creativity, and experimentation. unexpected insights.
The process consists of five key modes:
How to Empathize
1. Empathize → Understand users
deeply. 1. Observe → Watch users’ behaviors
in real contexts.
2. Define → Frame the right problem.
○ Look for mismatches
3. Ideate → Generate a wide range of between what people say
solutions. and do.
4. Prototype → Build representations 2. Engage → Have open
of solutions. conversations (interviews).
5. Test → Evaluate solutions and ○ Focus on stories and keep
refine them. asking “Why?”
3. Watch & Listen → Combine
observation + engagement.
II. Empathize Mode
Goal: Gain a deep understanding of users, ○ Let users show you how
their needs, values, and motivations. they do things.
Key Concepts ○ Contextual conversations
reveal hidden details.
● Empathy is at the core of design
thinking.
Transition to Define
● You design for people by
understanding their world. ● After empathizing, unpack findings:
● It helps reveal hidden insights that ○ Use photos, sticky notes,
drive innovative solutions. quotes, and maps.
○ Visualize and organize your
Why Empathize? insights.
○ Start synthesizing 4. Extract insights from observations.
information to define the
problem. 5. Create your POV by combining:
○ User → Who you’re
designing for.
III. Define Mode
○ Need → What problem to
Goal: Synthesize findings and frame a solve.
clear, actionable problem statement
called a Point of View (POV). ○ Insight → Why the problem
exists.
Key Concepts
● Makes sense of everything learned
Characteristics of a Good POV
during empathy.
● Focused and clear.
● Focuses the team on the right
problem to solve. ● Inspires the team.
● A narrower POV leads to better ● Defines evaluation criteria for ideas.
and more creative solutions.
● Saves time by avoiding overly broad
solutions.
Why Define?
● To clarify the challenge.
Transition to Ideate
● To synthesize insights and identify ● Create “How Might We…?”
patterns. questions based on the POV.
● To guide ideation and ensure ○ Example: “How might we
solutions are meaningful. make online learning more
engaging?”
How to Define
● These questions guide
brainstorming sessions.
1. Identify patterns and recurring
themes from empathy work.
2. Understand who your user is.
IV. Ideate Mode
3. Select key needs worth addressing. Goal: Generate a broad range of creative
solutions without judgment.
Key Concepts Transition to Prototype
● A “go wide” phase — explore ● Vote on the top 2–3 ideas based on:
many possibilities.
○ Most likely to delight.
● Use collective creativity to push
beyond obvious solutions. ○ Most rational or feasible.
● Ideation fuels prototyping and ○ Most unexpected or
testing. innovative.
● Carry multiple concepts forward, not
Why Ideate? just one.
● To transition from problem-finding
to solution generation.
V. Prototype Mode
● Encourages diverse perspectives
and unexpected breakthroughs. Goal: Build tangible representations of
your ideas to test and refine them.
● Produces both quantity and variety
of ideas. Key Concepts
● Prototypes help you think, learn,
How to Ideate and communicate.
1. Brainstorming → Build on each ● They don’t need to be perfect —
other’s ideas. start simple and cheap.
2. Mind Mapping → Visualize related ● Encourages quick exploration of
concepts. what works and what doesn’t.
3. Sketching & Storyboarding →
Draw quick ideas. Why Prototype?
4. Bodystorming → Act out scenarios. ● To visualize and test solutions early.
5. Prototyping as Ideation → Create ● To fail fast and cheaply before
rough models to inspire more ideas. investing heavily.
● To facilitate conversations with
Golden Rule: users.
Defer judgment → Generate ideas first,
evaluate later.
● To discover hidden insights ● Focus on learning, not just
through interaction. validation.
● Discover what works, what
How to Prototype doesn’t, and why.
1. Start Building → Use simple
materials (e.g., paper, tape, sticky Why Test?
notes).
● To refine solutions and improve
2. Keep It Low-Res → Focus on prototypes.
learning, not perfection.
● To uncover new user insights.
3. Test One Variable at a Time →
Each prototype answers a specific ● To validate or reframe your
question. problem statement if needed.
4. Design with Users in Mind → Build
around what you want to test and How to Test
learn.
1. Show, Don’t Tell → Let users
interact with the prototype naturally.
Transition to Test
2. Create Experiences → Make
● Prototyping and testing are testing feel real and contextual.
intertwined.
3. Ask for Comparisons → Provide
● Plan how you’ll test before creating multiple prototypes for better
prototypes. insights.
● A good prototype leads to better 4. Always Ask “Why?” → Go deeper
user insights. into users’ behaviors and choices.
Rule of Thumb:
VI. Test Mode Prototype as if you know you’re right, but
test as if you know you’re wrong.
Goal: Get feedback from users to improve
solutions and deepen understanding.
VII. Iteration in Design Thinking
Key Concepts
Design Thinking is not linear — it’s
● Testing = another chance to iterative.
empathize with users.
● You often revisit earlier stages as The 3-Stage Process That Makes
new insights emerge. Universities Prime Innovators
(Anne-Laure Fayard & Martina
● Testing might reveal the need to Mendola, 2024)
redefine the problem.
Main Idea
● Prototyping might spark fresh
ideation. Universities play a central role in fostering
innovation by curating connections and
● The process evolves and adapts to relationships that transform ideas into
different contexts and challenges. impactful solutions. Their innovation role
unfolds in three overlapping stages:
VIII. Key Takeaways
Stage 1: Supporting Student Innovation
● Empathize → Understand users
deeply. ● Universities help students move
beyond coursework to experiential
● Define → Frame the right problem. innovation.
● Ideate → Generate many possible ● Support includes:
solutions.
○ Prototyping funds and
● Prototype → Build quick and small grants.
cheap models.
○ Mentorship & coaching
● Test → Get feedback, learn, and (entrepreneurs, investors,
refine. faculty).
○ Access to networks (gov’t,
Design Thinking Mindset: businesses, investors).
Stay curious, empathetic,
and experimental. Always be ○ Accelerator programs
willing to learn, adapt, and (training, customer discovery,
iterate. funding).
● Example:
○ We Are the New Farmers
(NYU startup using
microalgae for sustainable
food).
■ Progressed from idea ● Some universities move from
→ prototype → supporting & engaging → to
hydroponic farm → orchestrating innovation
accelerator → ecosystems.
external funding.
● Example: Technical University of
● Outcome: Even if ideas don’t scale, Denmark (DTU)
students acquire core
entrepreneurial skills. ○ 1,600 corporate
collaborations/year.
○ In 2021: 81 inventions
Stage 2: Engaging with the Broader commercialized, 74 startups
Community launched.
● Universities extend beyond students
○ Ecosystem includes DTU
to collaborate with local
SkyLab, Science Park,
governments, businesses, and
Danish Tech Challenge,
communities.
PreSeed Ventures.
● Example: NYU Tandon Future Labs
○ Mission: align research with
(incubators created after 2008
sustainability & industrial
financial crisis).
needs.
○ Support startups in
○ Innovation seen as iterative,
cleantech, AI, smart cities,
networked exchanges, not
veterans’ businesses.
linear.
○ Partnerships with NYC & NY
● Key: Universities act as neutral
State agencies.
conveners, bridging government,
corporations, startups, and society.
○ Results: >380 companies
graduated, >3,200 jobs
created (as of 2023).
● Universities become anchors of Conclusion
local innovation ecosystems.
● Universities succeed in innovation
by:
○ Leveraging knowledge
Stage 3: Orchestrating an Inclusive creation and community
Ecosystem trust.
○ Acting as intermediaries to
connect diverse actors.
Principle: Value + Willingness to Pay
○ Fostering open innovation,
experimentation, iteration. ● Success depends on providing real
value that justifies even small
● Their role is vital in tackling complex payments.
societal challenges like
sustainability. ● Paying customers = feedback loop
for improvements + financial
sustainability.
2. To Really Help the Global Poor, Create ● Free services without value worsen
Technology They’ll Pay For (Alex Deng, the digital divide.
2015)
Main Idea
Development technologies often fail Examples of Success
because they rely on donor funding and lack
sustainability. To create real impact, 1. Bridge International Academies
technology for the poor must be (Uganda & Kenya)
something they value and are willing to
pay for. ○ For-profit low-cost schools
(~100,000 students).
○ ICT systems standardize
Problems with Traditional ICT4D Projects school operations &
teaching.
● Many projects end after pilot stage
once donor funding stops. ○ Payments only via mobile
money (no cash).
● Some countries (e.g., Uganda)
banned new pilot projects due to ○ Expands rapidly (1 new
unsustainable results. school every 2.5 days).
● Common issues: 2. M-KOPA (Solar Energy in East
Africa)
○ No revenue model.
○ Solar home system (~$200).
○ “Free” services often
undervalued. ○ Affordable via daily
micropayments (~46 cents)
○ Lack of feedback from users. over 1 year.
○ Customers save money vs and building ecosystems.
kerosene.
● Tech for the Poor: Must be
○ Company employs ~500 staff designed with customer value +
& 1,000 sales reps. affordability in mind, not as free aid.
3. Vodafone Farmer’s Club (Turkey, ● Both emphasize: Sustainability,
expanding to Africa/Asia) scalability, and ecosystem
thinking are critical for long-term
○ Provides weather alerts, crop impact.
advice, commodity prices.
○ Flexible payment: monthly or
annual at harvest time.
○ 1.2M Turkish farmers
subscribed; improved
productivity by €190M in one
year.
Conclusion
● Giving away tech is not
enough—sustainability requires
business models.
● Projects must be valuable,
revenue-generating, and scalable.
● Otherwise, non-adopters fall further
behind, deepening inequality.
✨ Key Takeaways Across Both Articles
● Universities: Best positioned as
innovation orchestrators by guiding
students, engaging communities,
