Student Reflections on Virtual Design Thinking Education

Dr. Zidulka was awarded an Internal Grant for Research for the annual Design Thinking Challenge, an innovation showcase for business undergraduate students to use the principles of design thinking.

Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC, Canada, runs an annual Design Thinking Challenge, which invites business undergraduate students to tackle an issue of societal concern using principles of design thinking. The Design Thinking Challenge differs from case competitions, in which business students are accustomed to competing, because it focuses on conducting empathic research, iterating based on feedback, and combining competition with collaboration. In this Innovation Showcase, we will share lessons learned around how to design and run a challenge of this type, focusing on issues like how to scope the challenge that is presented to students; how to balance collaboration, education, and competition; and how to design judging rubrics that enable the provision of formative feedback.