• Identify future trends, technologies and key methodologies in a specific domain;
• Design solutions applying a scientific and engineering approach (Analysis, Learning, Reasoning, and Modeling capability deriving from a solid and rigorous multidisciplinary background) to face problems and opportunities in a business and industrial environment.

• Identify future trends, technologies and key methodologies in a specific domain;
  • Understand and exploit technological and socio-cultural trends, explicit and latent user needs, together with a capability to interpret competitive dynamics in industries [Individual Written Exam];
• Design solutions applying a scientific and engineering approach (Analysis, Learning, Reasoning, and Modeling capability deriving from a solid and rigorous multidisciplinary background) to face problems and opportunities in a business and industrial environment:
  • Generate and develop new meaningful directions based on a deep understanding of the future dynamics of competition, society and technology [Team Design Thinking Project].

Practitioners and scholars acknowledge the central role of design as a driver of innovation and change. What has driven the steep growth of attention to design in the latest years in the business community is a change of perspective: design is not only an aesthetic driver of innovation but as a whole innovation management practice, a new set of processes, mindsets, capabilities, and organizational settings. It is something practiced not only by designers but by everyone in organizations who seeks to innovate. Design Thinking, in particular, is making the headlines, with an extremely rapid diffusion in the interest and practice of organizations. The increasing attention of practitioners to Design Thinking is evident by looking at the recent moves of large consulting organizations and tech corporations. Design Thinking is booming in those industries where the digital transformation requires new competences and capabilities for developing effective customer experiences. Also, software developers and integrators have extensively adopted Design Thinking practices.

We live in a world where technological opportunities are cascading on society at an unprecedented speed, a world awash with technologies and information. But humans do not use technologies or data; they need products and services, and design can allow people to navigate an overcrowded world. Far from being connected with the “form” of products, Design Thinking is accepted as a formal approach to foster innovation. It looks at value and change from the perspective of people; or, even better, from the perspective of what is meaningful to people. In other words it aims at shaping meaningful futures (i.e. desirable, sustainable, inclusive). Similarly to many other approaches, also Design Thinking combines three factors: (i) technologies, how things are made and their performance improved; (ii) people, how these things are valuable for customers; (iii) business, how organizations can profit from offering them. The perspective embedded in Design Thinking makes it unique: Design Thinking starts from people. Design Thinking for Business course aims at enriching the capabilities to envision innovative scenarios and to lead transformations. The approach embedded in Design Thinking is human-centered, abductive, iterative and intrinsically oriented to change and to envision new possibilities. An increasing number of firms in fact have recognized the importance of Design Thinking as a mean to achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

• SDG9 - INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
• SDG12 - RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
• SDG17 - PARTNERSHIP FOR THE GOALS

As previously mentioned, Design Thinking is accepted as a formal approach to foster innovation. It looks at value and change from the perspective of people; or, even better, from the perspective of what is meaningful to people. In other words it aims at shaping meaningful futures (i.e. desirable, sustainable, inclusive).

50% of the course will be dedicate to the Team Design Thinking Projects where teams will design meaningful futures addressing SDG9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG17 (Partnership for the Goals).

The course actively engages students in an experiential learning process: in addition to conceptual inputs, the faculty will use case study discussion, workshop, teamworking sessions and team presentations. For this reason, it requires that participants:

• Attend class regularly and contribute to class discussions;
• Be fully prepared for class (by accomplishing the pre-assigned tasks);
• Actively participate in team projects and activities outside of class, and contribute to team learning.

The main educational process is thought for students who will actively participate in class and who will engage in team-bases activities. The course allows some students, who are not able to provide this form of active participation, an alternative educational process.

Attending Students

The course is based on both individual and team activities. The lectures manly aim at illustrating and sharing frameworks, models and tools. In order to facilitate the understanding, case studies are presented and discussed along the lectures. During the course, participants develop the Team Design Thinking Project adopting the Design Thinking approach to face the brief proposed by the Partner Company(ies). Participants are engaged in creating the teams through the Design Thinking process proposed by the Faculty. The teams are averagely composed by 6 members. The Team Design Thinking Project is based on three main phases:

1. Envision: the first phase is based on desk analysis autonomously developed by each team and supported by the Faculty who facilitates the Envisioning Factory (design workshop aimed at envisioning the new meaningful direction and based on two dedicated sessions);
2. Re-Interpret: the second phase is based on two interviews autonomously developed by each team (interviews aimed at enriching the new meaningful direction);
3. Probing: the third phase is supported by the Faculty who facilitates the Probing Factory (design workshop aimed at probing the new meaningful direction and based on two dedicated sessions).

The Individual Written Exam, scheduled at the beginning of the off-term period (1^st call), is composed by small case studies to be critically discussed, closed and open questions.

Not-Attending Students

Not-attending students are those who—for some major constraints[1] that should be clearly explained to the faculty by email—are not able to participate to the great portion of classes and/or team activities (no more than two absences are allowed in relation to “Team Design Thinking Project” highlighted in orange in Section 5). Students with overlapping classes should commit in participating to Design Thinking for Business activities within the abovementioned limit or follow the course as not-attending students.

The exam is oral and scheduled in the off-lectures period. Not-attending students will not be included in teams and have to develop the Individual Design Thinking Project: this activity substitutes the Team Design Thinking Project that attending students accomplish in teams. The Individual Design Thinking Project is about the same brief proposed to the teams along the course. Individual Design Thinking Projects are presented during the oral exam. Not-attending students have to send one week before the oral exam the Presentation.

The Faculty strongly suggest to attend classes and to engage in team activities. An active participation to the course not only improves the effectiveness of the learning process, but also reduces the overall effort that the student has to put in the preparation of the final exam characterising the course.

[1] E.g. Interns, Erasmus, etc.

The final evaluation of the course is different for attending and not-attending students.

Attending Students

The evaluation is based on the following elements:

• Individual Written Exam: open questions about case studies and theoretical contents; the written exam is based on the content included in the course slides, case studies, guest speakers’ presentations and class discussions;
• Team Design Thinking Project: teams are engaged in designing a new meaningful direction for the Partner Company(ies).

The specific elements in the grading system and the points assigned to them are depicted in the following table.

In order to pass the exam:

• Sum must be >= 18;
• Individual Written Exam >= 7;
• Team Design Thinking Project >=11.

Peer evaluations among team members will be performed to guarantee a balanced commitment. The Team Design Thinking Project is valid for the entire academic year, so for all the calls the students that attend the course will keep that mark. The participation to the exams during the off-lectures period implies the cancellation of the associated marks obtained during the course.

Not-Attending Students

The evaluation is based on the following elements:

• Individual Oral Exam: open questions about case studies and theoretical contents; the individual oral exam is based on the content included in the course slides, case studies, textbooks, guest speakers’ presentations;
• Individual Design Thinking Project: individuals are engaged in designing a new meaningful direction for the Partner Company(ies). Presentation sent one week before the oral exam (ilaria.durante@polimi.it) and delivered during the oral exam.

The specific elements in the grading system and the points assigned to them are depicted in the following table.

In order to pass the exam:

• Sum must be >= 18;
• Individual Oral Exam >= 11;
• Individual Design Thinking Project >= 7.