Topic outline

  • Course brochure

    Based on Aalto University's updated Covid-19 guidelines (released 13.8.2020), this course will be organized 100% virtually. The course will use Zoom to run virtual workshops. All enrolled students will receive instructions (by mail) on how to participate the workshops.

    There is a pre-assignment (2 tasks)! Check the assignments (link in the menu) and please complete before the first session!

    KEY DETAILS

    • Teacher in charge: Ville Eloranta
    • Language of Instruction: English
    • Learning platform: MyCourses & Zoom (and various virtual teamwork tools)
    • Teaching Period: Period I
    • Location: Zoom
    • To ensure your place in the course, you must be present (virtually) in the first session


    1. COURSE OVERVIEW 

    IDBM Challenge is the introductory course for the IDBM programme. The course brings together students from diverse educational backgrounds. Through theoretical explorations and practical experiences, the students acquire the skills to conceptualize, develop, and introduce ethically and commercially sustainable approaches to complex societal challenges. The course involves rigorous reflections from individual, team, and collective perspectives.


    2. PREREQUISITES

    None. 


    3. LEARNING OUTCOMES

    After the course, the participants should be able to:

    1. identify and analyze the dynamics between the individual, the team, and the community, in the context of creative transdisciplinary problem solving
    2. identify and analyze the reasoning and practice of design-driven ways to solving ill-defined problems
    3. as a team, collectively apply the problem-solving methods to a real-life societal challenges
    4. as a team, collectively create a solution to the challenge
    5. individually and collectively reflect the design outcomes and the learning progress

    Learnings will be based on

    • Pre-assignment (2 tasks), click "assignments" in the menu
    • Articles, book chapters and videos (listed in this document)
    • Workshops (min. 75% mandatory presence (virtual) due to the teamwork-related learning objectives). Presence in the final event (virtual) is also mandatory.
    • Large project work in transdisciplinary teams (instructions given in the first session of the course)
    • Smaller individual and team assignments (instructions given in the first session)


    4. SCHEDULE

    WEEK 1

    Monday 7.9. Introduction and challenge brief

    10-14 @ Virtual space

    • Welcome!
    • Course introduction
    • IDBM Challenge Theme
    • Keynote (Mikko Dufva, SITRA)

    Tuesday 8.9. (Virtual) teamwork

    9-16 @ Virtual space

    • Virtual work 101 (Niina Nurmi)
    • Team chemistry
    • Loving and hating conflicts?
    • Mentored teamwork

    Wednesday 9.9. Transitions in entrepreneurship, design thinking fundamentals

    10-17 @ Virtual space

    • Transitioning entrepreneurship (Miika Huttunen, SLUSH)
    • Design Thinking Fundamentals
    • Learning Essays: what, how and why?
    • Mentored teamwork

    Thursday 10.9. Independent teamwork

    • Mentoring available, if needed

    Friday 11.9. Progressing toward insights in design thinking

    9-17 @ Virtual space

    • Beyond inclusive design (Noel Joyce)
    • Design thinking, from data to insights
    • Mentored teamwork


    WEEK 2

    Monday 14.9. Business perspective to design

    13-16.30 @ Virtual space

    • Business perspective to design thinking
    • Design thinking in the complex world (Sami Niemelä, Nordkapp)

    Learning essay 1 deadline! 


    Wednesday 16.9. Prototyping, day 1

    9-12 @ Virtual space

    • Prototyping workshop 1 (Markku Koskela and Klaus Castrén)

    Friday 18.9. Prototyping, day 2

    13-16 @ Virtual space

    • Prototyping workshop 2 (Markku Koskela and Klaus Castrén)


    WEEK 3 

    Monday 21.9. Your ideas, on stage

    13-16 @ Virtual space

    • Pitching your idea

    Learning essay 2 deadline! 

    Wednesday 23.9. Arts immersion

    9-12 @ Virtual space

    • Beyond instrumentalism in design thinking (Paula Rusokallio)

    Friday 25.9. Rehearsal presentations

    13-17 @ Virtual space

    • Rehearsal presentation of each team, comments from the mentors (15 mins session)


    WEEK 4 

    Monday 28.9.

    13-17, Reserved for event preparations.

    Wednesday 30.9.

    Final event (virtual), 9-19

    • The final event


    REST OF THE PERIOD

    Wednesday 7.10.

    Learning essay 3 deadline! 

    Friday 23.10.

    Team report/reflection deadline!

     

    5. ASSESSMENT METHODS AND CRITERIA

    • Individual reflections
    • Event preparation and presentation
    • Team reflection
    • Participation

    Exact details presented in the first session (and published here).

    Note

    • At least 75% attendance needed (virtual)
    • Event participation needed (virtual)


    6. WORKLOAD

    Classroom hours 29h*

    Teamwork 57h

    Class preparation 32h

    Individual assignments 17h

    Total 135h (5 ECTS)


    7. READINGS

    Pre-reading: Micheli, P., Wilner, S. J., Bhatti, S. H., Mura, M., & Beverland, M. B. (2019). Doing design thinking: Conceptual review, synthesis, and research agenda. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 36(2), 124-148.

    For week 1: Grant, A. M. (2014). Give and take: Why helping others drives our success. Penguin. (Chapter 1, pages 1-26). (open pdf)

    For week 2: Dorst, K. (2011). The core of ‘design thinking’ and its application. Design studies, 32(6), 521-532.

    For week 3: Zidulka, A., & Kajzer Mitchell, I. (2018). Creativity or cooptation? Thinking beyond instrumentalism when teaching design thinking. Journal of Management Education, 42(6), 749-760.

    Until the end of the course: Elsbach, K. D., & Stigliani, I. (2018). Design thinking and organizational culture: A review and framework for future research. Journal of Management, 44(6), 2274-2306.


    8. OTHER MATERIALS 

    IDBM Nordic Rebels videos (recommended!)

    1. In this video, Katharina talks to Emilia, who highlights the importance of honoring yourself. She also touches on the Finnish notion of “sisu”, and how you can become the hero of your own life. Starting on an intense journey like this IDBM Challenge, you get deeply focused on the wicked problems you’re tackling. Emilia provides a gentle reminder at the start of this journey that you have to take care of yourself too. 
    2. In this episode, Katharina and Esa Saarinen talk about teams, courage, compassion and living the good life. It can often be a challenge to take on wicked problems, while working with new people from a variety of backgrounds and in a new environment. So how do you ensure you keep an open mind and work effectively together? Esa provides his perspective on how to navigate this. 
    3. In this episode, Katharina had a chat with Paul D. Savage about authenticity and meaningful. The talk is all about the agency to choose what kind of meaning we give to events, things, and people. 


    9. COURSE HOMEPAGE

    MyCourses (IDBM Challenge 2020). 


    10. GRADING SCALE

    0-5


    11. REGISTRATION FOR THE COURSE

    Via WebOodi.

    To ensure your place in the course, you must be present in the first session (virtually).

    NOTE!

    The order of priority for admitting students to courses at Aalto ARTS 1.1.2018 onwards (approved by The Committee of Arts, Design and Architecture on 10.10.2017) is as follows:

    1. major/programme and who have scheduled it for the current academic year in their personal study plan (HOPS);
    2. exchange students for whom the course is a part of his/her officially approved learning agreement and scheduled to be taken during the current semester;
    3. students for whom the course is compulsory for their major/programme and who have not completed it yet;
    4. students, for whom the course is part of his/her major’s or programme’s alternative studies and has been scheduled in the student's PSP (HOPS) for the current academic year
    5. students, for whom the course is part of his/her major’s or programme’s alternative studies and who have not completed the requisite number of credits for alternative studies yet;
    6. students for whom the course is compulsory for their minor;
    7. students, for whom the course is part of his/her minor subject’s alternative studies and who have not completed the requisite number of credits for alternative studies yet;
    8. students who have applied for the course through a student mobility scheme (internal mobility within Aalto University, flexible study right (JOO) studies etc.);
    9. other students.

    Courses that are intended to be multidisciplinary (e.g. UWAS courses) may apply an order of priority based on the learning outcomes of the course, while bearing in mind the university obligation of enabling students to complete their degrees within the normative duration of study set for the degree. The order of priority does not apply to courses organised by the Centre for General Studies or doctoral courses.

    This decision on the order of priority does not influence the right of the teacher to define prerequisites for the course.

     

    12. FURTHER INFORMATION

    Dr. Ville Eloranta, ville.eloranta@aalto.fi

    Office: Väre, 2nd floor (IDBM). Office Hours: on request.


    ...AND ONCE AGAIN

    To ensure your place in the course, you must be present in the first session (virtually).


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