Lingnan Design Thinking Challenge Day

29 Jun 2018

Lingnan Design Thinking Challenge Day

Over 100 students from 12 secondary schools participated in the first Lingnan Design Thinking Challenge Day organised by the Office of Service-Learning on 29 and 30 June to learn design thinking methodology and its applications in tackling contemporary social and environmental challenges.  This activity also served to deepen students’ understanding of Lingnan University’s liberal arts education through experiencing university life on campus and interacting with Lingnan students.

 

The students joined a simulation activity in which they played the role of “Lingnan freshmen” to explore and experience how Lingnan teachers and students use the campus facilities, and ideated with innovative solutions to provide better campus user experience.  Prof Ada WONG Hiu-Kan, Assistant Professor of the Department of Marketing and International Business was invited to give feedback to the creative ideas presented by the students.

 

The activity had equipped students with a set of tools to innovate with empathy and inspired them with great ideas.  They were encouraged to pay more attention to the surrounding needs in the community with creative mindsets to turn the insights into impactful actions for the social good.  Besides, they were also deeply impressed by the values of liberal arts education, which strives to nurture socially responsible and emphatic citizens to contribute to the society.

 

At the end of the activity, Prof Wong concluded that she was happy to see all students were very creative and engaged in the activity.  She hoped that students could apply the knowledge in solving different social problems in the future.

 

Some participants shared on what they have learned from the activity:-

 

“I was deeply impressed by the simulation experience.  It made me reflect on how important it is to think from the users’ perspectives when designing facilities for the campus.  It is an interactive process between designers and users for making a good design.  I hope I can apply this experience and make suggestions to enhance the existing facilities of my school.”

 

“Ideation is a process with fun and creativity.  I learnt not to criticise others’ ideas during the brainstorming process, but try to build on their ideas and think outside the box which are crucial to generate new ideas.  I believe this learning is beneficial to me in planning activities with schoolmates to serve the community in the future.”

Lingnan Design Thinking Challenge Day  Lingnan Design Thinking Challenge Day