B.6.1.1 Location, context, time, and duration
The 1st instructor training at University Tenaga Nasional took place on June 30, 2021. The title of the event was “Design Thinking for Higher Education: Innovation in the Digital Age (Part 1)”. The event took place virtually via the Microsoft® Teams platform due to COVID-19 restrictions still enforced in Malaysia.
B.6.1.2 Participants
The event was attended by 50 lecturers from University Tenaga Nasional and other universities from Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
B.6.1.3 Description of activities
The event was a half day workshop covering an overview of the 5 stages in design thinking approach with emphasis of the first 3 stages. The aim of the workshop was to transfer knowledge on design thinking to the participants and to create a pool of instructors who would be implementing the design thinking approach in the courses.
The workshop was delivered by Prof. Dr. Sofri bin Yahya, a professor and design thinking coach from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He is a well-known figure in design thinking in Malaysia who has been practicing and advocating design thinking in higher education.
The workshop started with a briefing on the ICT-INOV project and the role of University Tenaga Nasional in its implementation, which was presented by the project manager at University Tenaga Nasional, Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Hazleen Aris. During the workshop, participants were given an introduction on the design thinking approach and practical examples on how it can be used to improve and enrich the teaching and learning experience, at the same time boosting students’ innovation skills. The connection between universities that practice design thinking and the number of unicorns that they produce as shared by Prof. Sofri is a proof on the effectiveness of this approach in fostering innovative graduates.
B.6.1.4 Feedback and web presence
All participants developed valuable skills on design thinking for higher education from Prof. Sofri. The workshop was followed by a 2nd session that was delivered in a month’s time to allow participants to think and prepare ideas on implementing design thinking in their courses. More on the workshop.
