Design Thinking

Design Thinking addresses the fundamental principles of design thinking and solving for difficult entrepreneurship and business challenges facing companies. An entrepreneurial company will serve as the source of a challenge for graduate student teams who will take on the role of advisors. Drawing on research and theory in design thinking, entrepreneurship, critical thinking, creativity, ethnography, and systems theory, this course enables the student to develop skills in how to think about difficult challenges that are characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity and for which there are no options that satisfy the needs of all stakeholders and constituencies. Most of the course focus will be on finding and framing the challenge in creative ways using techniques such as ethnographic observation, prototyping, storytelling, journey mapping, value chain analysis, and divergent/convergent idea generation before considering a range of solutions in the form of options and gathering feedback to enable the assessment of those options.

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Use design thinking tools
• Apply design thinking project management aids
• Improve innovation performance
• Embed design thinking to increase visibility to new opportunities
• Develop consistent streams of value creation
• Challenge the status quo
• Understand the symbiotic relationship between economic viability and design
• Recognize the move from competitive to comparative advantage
• Employ ethnographic techniques to observe, diverge and converge on insights, develop stories, and experiment
• Recognize design thinking influencers
• Use entrepreneurial thinking to design experiments and physically model potential solutions
• Apply experiences to design
• Evaluate how design thinking meets the corporation
• Uncover designing for tomorrow – today
• Apply critical thinking principles as the fundamental intellectual standard for thinking about thinking
• Use design thinking and creative problem-solving skills to identify and frame difficult business challenges with more discipline before considering alternative solutions
• Use systems thinking to generate options, analyze problems and solutions, and consider the impact of decisions on the company or organization
• Enhance your written and oral communication skills while working with the management team of your client

Register 21 days before class start date and save 10%! Enter discount code EARLY10 during registration.

Register 21 days before class start date and save $250! Enter discount code EARLY250 during registration.

Is there a discount available for current students?

UMBC students and alumni, as well as students who have previously taken a public training course with UMBC Training Centers are eligible for a 10% discount, capped at $250. Please provide a copy of your UMBC student ID or an unofficial transcript or the name of the UMBC Training Centers course you have completed. Asynchronous courses are excluded from this offer.

What is the cancellation and refund policy?

Student will receive a refund of paid registration fees only if UMBC Training Centers receives a notice of cancellation at least 10 business days prior to the class start date for classes or the exam date for exams.