Design Thinking for Social Innovators is a blended learning course aims to equip its participants with both theoretical knowledge of the design thinking process as well as hands-on experiences in creating a solutions/product that will help solve some societal problems. With four online sessions and a final in-person prototyping workshop, this course helped a diverse group of participant from an array of professions (adult education trainers, educators, university students and members of NGOs and start-ups) and cultural backgrounds (Europe, South Asia and Middle East) to gain entrepreneurial and inter-cultural competences.

The Challenge:
Within an online or blending teaching environment, how can trainers address a diverse group of learners with different cultural backgrounds, professions, learning styles and educations levels and ensure a good learning experience and outcome for all?

Target Groups/Clients:
Learners participating various European Projects including adult education, higher education, SME and NGOs.

Solutions:
A design-based collaborative learning method that draws on not only on the trainer’s knowledge and experience, but also the contributions from the learners. The course is designed to be interactive and dynamic where learners will have the opportunity to lead and facilitate the sessions.

Innovation:
Blended and online learning are often very difficult to facilitate and ensure active engagement from learners. The innovation of this course is creation of two-way facilitation where learners are also contributors through-out the entire course (both online and in-person sessions).

Impact:
Development of a new teaching/learning approach suitable for cross-cultural and multidisciplinary courses. 

Organisation:
blinc eG

Website: blinc-eu.org