Grand Valley announces Design Thinking Academy

A newly established program at Grand Valley will help students become innovative thinkers and problem solvers who are able to make lasting impacts in the world by utilizing the design thinking process.

"A Design Thinking Academy for undergraduate students is unique in the United States," said John Berry, director of Grand Valley's Design Thinking Initiative and the Design Thinking Academy. "The academy will create a framework for focused study and application of design thinking that integrates student learning through high-impact activities that contribute to social, civic and business innovation."

Fifteen students, who will be referred to as Design Thinking Academy Fellows, will be initially accepted into the program during its inaugural year beginning in fall 2017.

Students interested in applying for the academy can do so by visiting gvsu.edu/designthinking/dta. The deadline for applications is May 5 and the Design Thinking Academy is open to all Grand Valley undergraduate students, regardless of major.

When new academy fellows join the program, they will first participate in a Design Thinking Deep Dive session. These intensive problem-solving sessions will introduce students to the design thinking process.

Each academy fellow will then be assigned to a small team of approximately five students from different majors. These teams will each work on solving a need within the university, or a community-based problem from a list of more than 25 academy partners.

"Employers are looking for well-rounded students who have applicable experiences beyond their specific majors, such as collaboration, empathy, rapid prototyping and adjusting to new information," Berry said. "The Design Thinking Academy will provide those applied experiences using design thinking to address issues and often discover new issues that hadn't been recognized before, leading to real innovation."

The academy will additionally host topical sessions surrounding the different facets of design thinking and one speaker each semester from an organization that uses design thinking. Students will also participate in educational trips to local institutions that utilize the design thinking process, such as the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Newell Brands, Steelcase, Herman Miller and the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

"Design thinking training cultivates a host of skills, including empathy, collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving,” said Sara Armbruster, vice president of strategy, research and new business innovation at Steelcase. “These capabilities are in high demand at Steelcase and many other firms, so we’re pleased to see that Grand Valley is developing opportunities for students to gain such experiences.”

Students who complete the academy programming will earn a Design Thinking Academy certificate of completion.

For more information about the Design Thinking Academy, contact John Berry at [email protected].