As part of the Education Architect's project, we are committed to promoting the adoption of design thinking in education and highlighting its benefits in increasing awareness and inspiring its implementation. To achieve this goal, we invite educational institutions and professionals from the field to share their good practices with us.

We aim to create a comprehensive compilation of successful design thinking projects that bridge the gap between education and other industries. This compilation will serve as a valuable resource for educators, inspiring them to incorporate design thinking into their professional work and demonstrating the practical applications and tangible results that can be achieved.

If you have successfully implemented design thinking in a project, we invite you to share your story with us. Your contribution will help promote the methodology at a European level, showcasing the innovative solutions that are already being used to address real-world challenges.

To participate, please submit your project description between September and October. We look forward to receiving your submissions and sharing your good practices with the education community.

What is Design Thinking?

Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation and problem-solving that emphasizes understanding the needs of the users, brainstorming creative solutions, prototyping, and testing. It is an iterative process that encourages experimentation and learning from failures, making it particularly effective in addressing complex challenges.

The process typically involves five stages:

1. Empathize: Understanding the needs, experiences, and motivations of the users through observation and engagement.
2. Define: Clearly articulating the problem that needs to be solved based on insights gained during the empathize stage.
3. Ideate: Generating a wide range of creative ideas and solutions through brainstorming sessions.
4. Prototype: Creating tangible representations of the ideas to explore their viability and get feedback.
5. Test: Evaluating the prototypes with users, gathering feedback, and making necessary adjustments.

Benefits of Design Thinking in Education

Design thinking offers numerous benefits in the educational context:

• Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills: Students learn to approach problems methodically, considering multiple perspectives and testing various solutions.
• Collaboration and Communication: The process encourages teamwork and effective communication, essential skills for the modern workplace.
• Creativity and Innovation: By fostering a creative mindset, design thinking helps students think outside the box and develop innovative solutions.
• Real-World Applications: Design thinking projects often address real-world challenges, making learning more relevant and engaging for students.
• Resilience and Adaptability: The iterative nature of design thinking teaches students to embrace failure as a learning opportunity and adapt their approaches based on feedback.

Share Your Success Stories

We believe that sharing successful design thinking projects can inspire other educators to implement this methodology in their own practice. Whether you have integrated design thinking into your curriculum, collaborated with other industries, or developed innovative educational tools, your story can make a difference.

How to Participate

To participate, please submit your project description between September and October. Your submission should include:

• A detailed description of the project and its objectives.
• The stages of design thinking involved and how they were implemented.
• The outcomes and impact of the project on students and/or the community.
• Any challenges faced and how they were overcome.
• Lessons learned and recommendations for other educators.

By sharing your good practices, you will contribute to a growing body of knowledge that can inspire and guide others in the education community. We look forward to receiving your submissions and showcasing the innovative solutions that are already making a difference.

For more information and to submit your project, please fill out the Good Practice Form here.

Together, let's inspire the next generation of educators and students through the power of design thinking!