Dankook Univ. educates design thinking for its students with diverse backgrounds

Dankook University is currently holding a hand-on workshop on “design thinking” inspired by Stanford d.school, the South Korean school said Tuesday.

The weeklong program, to be held at the university’s Jukjeon campus in Gyeonggi Province through Saturday, is led by five visiting lecturers from Silicon Valley, renowned as a global hub of design thinking.

Students engage in a group discussion during the Design Thinking Boots Camp at Dankook University’s campus in Jukjeon, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. (Dankook University)

Design thinking refers to an approach of breaking stereotypes to resolve problems, usually carried out in a group to gather ideas. Already used in many global companies such as Apple, SAP and IBM, it is emerging as a new educational method that befits the fourth industrial revolution.

During the program, students are asked to choose a theme based on their interests and employ creative problem-solving skills to tackle the issue as a team. Any issue -- from low birthrate rate to foreign affairs -- can be accessed by design thinking.

“Stanford d.school has been spreading design thinking to help startups and global enterprises to seek unique ideas and solutions. The workshop will be a good opportunity to help develop Korea’s own style of design thinking,” said Kim Tae-hyeong, director of Dankook’s Software Design Convergence Center.

Dankook University opened its SW Design Convergence Center last year to nurture creativity in students through design thinking.

By Byun Hee-jin (hjbandi9@heraldcorp.com) and Park Joung-kyu (fob140@heraldcorp.com)

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