We organized the first intensive Design Thinking course for our partners from the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain.
The course took place from June 10 to 11, 2024, and was attended by 14 educators from various faculties, primarily from the Faculty of Communication. Together, we delved into the process of problem identification, identifying “jobs to be done,” empathy, and ideation.
Despite being experienced educators, all participants actively engaged in the prepared activities. “It was amazing to see how even seasoned educators can become excited about new methods and approaches,” said course instructor Adam Brocka. “Their enthusiasm and passion were truly contagious.”
Participants gained a lot of inspiration
The enthusiasm of the participants was palpable during informal conversations during breaks and was confirmed by the feedback after the course. “I’ve been using design thinking methods in my courses for several years, but I still gained a lot of inspiration here. Every instructor brings something unique, and I appreciate that,” said Jorge del Río Pérez, a professor from the Faculty of Communication. “I’m taking away many ideas that I’ll be reflecting on over the summer,” he added.
The course also provided significant insights for the co-organizers themselves – Dr. Jurišová and Dr. Murár. Cultural differences, a change of environment, and the opportunity for networking and mutual exchange of experiences were very inspiring. “We’re very pleased with the participants’ enthusiasm and completely understand it. We ourselves went through such an intensive design thinking course two years ago. It significantly advanced our department. The outcome was the Safari project, which we have been organizing for students for the second year now,” said Vladimíra Jurišová, Head of the Department of Marketing Communication at FMK UCM in Trnava and course organizer.
Workshops are being planned in the Czech Republic and Georgia
The Design Thinking course was carried out as one of the outputs of the international project 2022-1-SK01-KA220-HED-000089101: Design Thinking as a method of soft skills and digital skills development in higher education to increase employability. “We are already preparing the next two workshops from the project, the first being at FMK in Slovakia and at the University of Finance and Administration in Prague, Czech Republic. Both are scheduled for September 2024. Next year, a similar workshop will also take place at the Business and Technology University in Tbilisi, Georgia, where another project partner is based,” said Vladimíra Jurišová.
This event is an example of how international collaboration can bring new impulses and inspiration for educators to continuously improve their teaching methods and approaches. The workshop at the University of Navarra in Pamplona was a great start, and we are already looking forward to the next developments.
