Many academic organisations are calling attention to the need for urgent changes in curricula and learning methods demanded by the continual social transformation of an increasingly technological world. Transversal skills such as the ability to think creatively and critically, take initiative, and work collaboratively for common goals, are essential to guarantee a qualified and entrepreneurial workforce in Europe. The D-Think research project emerged in this educational context during September 2014 and is an initiative of 7 partners from 6 different European countries, supported by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission. The project aims to promote a wider use of Design Thinking as a transversal learning tool by developing and making available a toolkit and an innovative digital course for educators and professional trainers.

The result of the first year of the D-Think project is a Research Report about Design Thinking and its application in Education and Training, providing a spring board for the next stages of the project: the creation of the D-Think toolkit and a D-Think m-learning course, both in development and testing until August 2017.

The main objective of the Research Report is the clarification of the role of Design Thinking in HEI (Higher Education Institutions) and VET (Vocational Training) Education, and the identification of new approaches to teaching/learning. The target group of the D-Think project are educators/trainers who want to rethink the education system and the current teaching/learning methodologies. As a result, the partnership expects HEI´s and VET providers to prepare people to respond better to the challenges of the labour market, and so be able to stimulate the growth of flexible and innovative businesses in the future.

AUTORES KATJA TSCHIMMEL, JOANA SANTOS, DIRK LOYENS, ALEXANDRE JACINTO, RUTE MONTEIRO E MARIANA VALENÇA

DESIGN RUTE CARVALHO, ESAD COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT

EDIÇÃO CIFAD/ESAD MATOSINHOS, PORTUGAL

PROGRAMAS ERASMUS+ E KA2 STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

PARCEIROS EUROPEUS ADVANCIS BUSINESS SERVICES (PORTUGAL), VAASAN AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU VAMK LTD. UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES (FINLAND), ISTUD BUSINESS SCHOOL (ITALY), AKADEMIA HUMANISTYCZNO-EKONOMICZNA WODZI (POLAND), VENTURE HUB (SPAIN) E EFMD – EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT (BELGIUM)
(in esad.pt)

PUBLIC PRESENTATION
Design Thinking in Education
jan 21, 6 PM
18h00 Facts & Figures
Basis of Design Thinking applied to education
Katja Tschimmel
18h30 Baselining Futures
A hybrid business and design school case study
Ana Barroca

D-Think research report in here d-think.eu