Design Thinking and

creativity @Aalto Design

Factory

Prof. Katja Hölttä-Otto Design Factory Aalto University

Aalto University Strategy

Vision - An innovative society Breakthrough discoveries deeply integrated with design and business

thinking enable systemic solutions and accelerate innovation.

Values • Passion for exploration

• Courage to influence and excel

• Freedom to be creative and critical

• Responsibility to accept, care and inspire

• Integrity, openness and equality

Strategic objectives Research and innovation: Research excellence for academic and

societal impact

Art and creative practices: Renewing society by art, creativity and design

Education: Educating game changers

Campus: Transforming our campus into a unique collaboration hub

Enablers of our academic mission: Excellence in advancing and

supporting our core goals

Vision - An innovative society Breakthrough discoveries deeply integrated with design and business

thinking enable systemic solutions and accelerate innovation.

Values • Passion for exploration

• Courage to influence and excel

• Freedom to be creative and critical

• Responsibility to accept, care and inspire

• Integrity, openness and equality

Strategic objectives Research and innovation: Research excellence for academic and

societal impact

Art and creative practices: Renewing society by art, creativity and design

Education: Educating game changers

Campus: Transforming our campus into a unique collaboration hub

Enablers of our academic mission: Excellence in advancing and

supporting our core goals

Aalto University Strategy

Freedom to be creative and critical

Art and creative practices: Renewing society by art, creativity and design

Design Factory

Fostering creativity

• Teach creativity methods (lectures, workshops, applying

to real problems)

• Problem based learning & open ended design tasks

• Encourage hands on experimenting

• Facilities to support the above

– open 24/7

– labs for all types of quick prototyping

– flexible spaces for any activity

– inspiring interior

– kitchen

Practical Actions

• Facilities

– For all

• Courses

– Product Development Project (PDP)

– ME310 Global Innovation Program

– Aaltonaut –interdisciplinary minor

– Etc.

• Pedagogical training

Facilities

Facilities

Facilities Facilities

Facilities

Tenured Professors’ Installation Lectures 19.1.2016

Courses

Product Development Project (PDP)

ME310 Global Innovation Program

Aaltonaut minor

Methods in Early Product Development

Any course by an Aalto instructor

“Normal” course learn theory

practice with homework

prove with test/exam

ME310 experience the design process

practice with real-life projects

demonstrate with results

Teacher/Coach

Student Team

Alumni/Mentor

Larry Leifer

Course assessment to support creativity

• Design projects are assessed in reviews – Creativity of the solution

– Level of thinking in the process – Assessed by a multi-disciplinary teaching team – Oral & Written Report

– Thinking and process are emphasized in the beginning in addition to divergent ideas, the emphasis moves to the solution at the end.

• Creativity: assess the number, novelty, and variety of the ideas

• Critical thinking: the assess well justified decisions

• Outside opinions: Project sponsors are asked to assess the project – A question directly about the creativity

Pedagogical training

Pedagogical training

• Teacher partner course. The course includes planning, implementing, and evaluating a teaching experiment on your own teaching. Student feedback is collected and utilized in the process. Working methods are individual and group work supported with pedagogical mentoring. Assessment is based on self-evaluation, peer evaluation, and mentor evaluation.

• Teacher community. Come and share your experiences, ideas, tools and skills with other teachers. Get to know each other and maybe even create partnerships for interdisciplinary courses.

• Barn room for teachers. Meet with students and other teachers.

• Presentation skills. Want to improve the student presentations in your course? Tailored practical workshops are available for all kinds of presentations and presentation styles.

• Targeted workshops

Practical Actions

• Facilities

– For all

• Courses

– Hands on

– Open ended

– Problem based

• Pedagogical training

– Spread the message across the university, beyond Design

Factory