Dear Friends

Here is a brief introduction that I have drafted to introduce the new course offering on Design Thinking at the Ahmedabad University. You can download the full course outline from the academia.edu site and the link for the pdf file is provided at the end of the introduction.

Quote from course outline

Design is a very old human activity that started when mankind attempted to change their environment for their wellbeing and to enhance their ability to protect themselves. This definition is very broad and it therefore places Design and Design Thinking as the very first tradition of human thought and action long before the evolution of science, art and religion. At this level all critical instances of human development can be attributed to some breakthrough design thought and action which then gets absorbed into the mainstream of human life through general acceptance and wide adoption. Design evolved gradually and reached a very high level of refinement in our villages and our traditional societies in the pre-industrial age. This craft based evolution was shaped by the interplay of time and the ingenuity of the local craftsmanship and leadership. This created a vast body of traditional wisdom that is today still fortunately still embedded in the rural and village life in places such as India.

Design as we know it today it is however the product of thought and deliberate action that is composed by intentions and imagination and its effects are refined by iterative explorations and supported sensitive judgments and convictions where actions come before the provision of proof of concept. Such action is informed by an act of faith which is grounded on the cumulative explorations and insights drawn from these multidisciplinary and multi-modal journeys. Design Thinking is now recognised at a strategic level as a modern business activity that can help — create the artifacts, messages, spaces, organisations, systems, services and governance of the future — all within the constraints of our particular context. The future is unknowable by scientific investigation but it can be envisaged and responsibly chosen through the use of design visualisation of scenarios on the one hand and ethical design judgment on the other using collaborative processes where stakeholder involvement and empathy go hand in hand. The proposed course is an introduction to Design Thinking which is delivered through a set of nine curated lectures, panel discussions to bring multiple perspectives to the debate, three guest lectures from the design profession and a variety of case studies and structured assignments that help internalize these basic concepts. Several minor assignments and a major project serve as a vehicle for participative action that is central to the understanding of design thinking as applied to the resolution of complex opportunities and challenges facing humanity and the planet today.

 This course is an introduction to key concepts and tools of design thinking and the areas of application across fields and levels of intervention that would lead to the creation of unique value in the chosen ecosystem. Understanding that design thinking leads to the creation of value in existing systems as well as unfolds value across various levels of products, services, systems and in intangible offerings such as systems of governance as well as policies and guidelines.

End of quote

http://www.academia.edu/13596219/University_wide_course_on_Design_Thinking

Your comments are welcome

Faculty involved in this course have all volunteered to join as both participants as well as learners so that the assimilation of design thinking concepts and attitudes into the university programmes and activities is facilitated by their involvement.

With warm regards

M P Ranjan

From my iPad at home

4 July 2015 at 8.05 am IST


Prof M P Ranjan
Independent Academic, Ahmedabad
Adjunct Professor (Design) Ahmedabad University
Author of blog : http://www.designforindia.com
Archive of papers : https://ahduni.academia.edu/RanjanMP
Sent from my iPad

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