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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Design Thinking for Innovation by University of Virginia

4.7
stars
8,887 ratings

About the Course

Today innovation is everyone's business. Whether you are a manager in a global corporation, an entrepreneur starting up, in a government role, or a teacher in an elementary school, everyone is expected to get lean – to do better with less. And that is why we all need design thinking. At every level in every kind of organization, design thinking provides the tools you need to become an innovative thinker and uncover creative opportunities that are there – you're just not seeing them yet. In this course, developed at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and taught by top-ranked faculty, we provide an overview of design thinking and work with a model containing four key questions and several tools to help you understand design thinking as a problem solving approach. We also look at several stories from different organizations that used design thinking to uncover compelling solutions....

Top reviews

ET

Jan 29, 2023

I learned a new approach by this course. I strongly recommend it to any business person who wants to find innovative solutions for his challenges in daily business life as well as long term solutions.

SS

Aug 30, 2018

This is very good course for every body whatever your background, your education & your job role position. I highly recommend to get this training to change, gain & create your mindset for innovation.

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76 - 100 of 2,695 Reviews for Design Thinking for Innovation

By Jeffrey I

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Feb 18, 2021

The final assignment's instructions weren't clear and weren't placed appropriate enough for me to understand what the criteria was in time to provide a compelling final project. Please move instructions into week 4 and not week 5. Very confusing and has affected my final grade.

By Joel S

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Dec 8, 2020

Very good teacher and material. Only flaw: The assignment is a joke since your peers will most likely give you a passing score and dont even bother to read your reflection. Which downgrades the credibility of this course imo.

By Paul M

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Sep 23, 2019

I'd like to see a lot more content and sequential assignments rather than just one at the end. Getting peer reviews was difficult and I would also appreciate at least one tutor review to add greater credibility to my score.

By Shashank J

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Apr 9, 2020

Looks more theoretical.

Overall image seems outdated in terms of video quality.

slides along with running text sync with audio can be more appreciated.

Overall good learning.

By Erick A R A d l S

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Jan 8, 2018

In the videos you should apply the visualization tool to explain ideas further, they are purely verbal and can get to be boring. There should be an assignment for each concept to fully understand the design thinking tools.

It is too vague ; The lack of interaction and assignments don't help.

By Sean S

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Nov 15, 2017

Could have been better. I learned some of the basics of Design Thinking. The best parts were the Case Studies that were presented. They were interesting and showed the benefit of using Design Thinking. The parts with the most opportunity for improvement were the final exam and cutting out some of the pontificating guests speakers from industry or other schools that really added nothing to the course.

The final exam was not clear to me on the expectations and is really not practical. It was unclear to me whether we were supposed to use a Design Thinking Tool on a problem we were facing, or to share where we used it in the past, or to reflect on how we could have used in the past? Using on a current problem isn't practical, would take too much time, and it would need to be dumbed down to the point no confidential details are being shared. If the assignment was to share where we used in the past, I wouldn't be taking the course as I would already have experience with Design Thinking Tools. I chose to reflect on how I could have used DT tools on a past problem for the final exam. Clarifying the approach in the final exam or changing it completely is recommended.

By Christopher S

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Dec 12, 2019

Compared to other classes, it felt like this course never really got off the ground. Each week there was a series of videos- some of them kind of fluff- had senior speakers from top firms but some of the dialog was a bit rudderless and off the cuff or casual. If these speakers are trying to make a point it should be more concise and possibly, where applicable, linked o the course content from that week. It was clear that they wanted us to buy the book. I think the course should have been more hands on and had an activity / task to lose out the week.

By Tyler A

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Sep 15, 2016

I can't say I really enjoyed this 5 week course. The flow itself was more like "food for thought" where a bunch of ideas are presented as sort of an intellectual gymnastics exercise with no point really. By week 5 you are just plain bored. The content wasn't concise enough. It could have easily been a 4 week course or even shorter had they not tried to belabor each topic. It all was too high level and never really got down enough to earth. I have done other courses on the same topic which were better put together.

By Yahya S

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May 29, 2020

The course is lower than expectations for me for multiple reasons , I will share the positives and negatives:

positives: the course length is very reasonable ,the course concept is excellent and the instructor language is clear with under stable accent.

negatives: the link between stories and the course contents is weak , the course dose not explain the points clearly and the submission need some work before submitting it which was not mentioned at the beginning of the course.

By Mahdi J

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Sep 30, 2019

I think the course material needs a more innovative approach. it was kinda boring to just listen to a solo speaker talks about innovation. this course definitely can use some of the material covered here to improve the flow of lectures.

By Stefano F

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Feb 18, 2020

Good course, overall, but quite superficial. I would have liked some more in-depth explanation on some of the tools (like personas, brainstorming or rapid-prototyping)

By Axel K

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Feb 3, 2021

Confused .. I thought this is a good course in design thinking methods … but it is a long series of boaring videos .. the final assignment counted 100% … hence in the peer reviews I was confronted with 3 (!) submissions which had nothing to do with the assignment, but where just uploaded PDFs of "something" which might or might not have "something" to do with Design Thinking … This course clearly needs improvement … was it a waste of time … mainly !

By 321910306007 g

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Nov 24, 2020

we did not get any grades after submitting assignment

By Akshet P

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Apr 16, 2020

Very bad course!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By katherine B

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Jul 12, 2020

los ejemplos no son entendibles

By Aayush S

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Feb 26, 2020

Dry and Boring. Can be skipped.

By NGUYEN T H

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Jun 16, 2024

The "Design Thinking for Innovation" course is a valuable and practical learning experience, especially useful for those interested in developing creative and innovative methods in their work and life. 1. Course Content: The course is structured clearly, with each lesson covering the core concepts of Design Thinking. From identifying problems, gathering information, generating ideas, to testing and implementing solutions, these steps are thoroughly guided and illustrated with real-world examples. Particularly, the course provides useful tools such as Mind Mapping, which helps learners organize and develop ideas systematically. 2. Teaching Methodology: The teaching methodology of the course is modern and interactive. The instructor uses concise and comprehensible videos along with practical exercises to help learners apply the knowledge immediately. 3. Practical Application: One of the standout features of the course is its high applicability. From improving work processes to developing new products, the methods and tools from the course can be widely applied across various fields. Especially, the course helps learners develop creative thinking and effective problem-solving abilities. 4. Learning Materials and Resources: The course provides a wealth of high-quality reference materials, including e-books, articles, and supplementary videos. These resources not only help learners gain a deeper understanding of the concepts but also offer illustrative examples and real-life cases for reference. 5. Achievements: Upon completing the course, I feel more confident in applying Design Thinking in my daily work. The course not only helped me grasp the basic concepts but also provided practical skills to effectively implement innovative projects. I am particularly impressed with how the course has enabled me to think flexibly and find breakthrough solutions for complex problems. Conclusion: "Design Thinking for Innovation" is an excellent course for those looking to enhance their creative and problem-solving skills. With rich content, modern teaching methods, and high applicability, this course will undoubtedly bring significant value to learners. I highly recommend this course for everyone to experience and apply the Design Thinking methods in their work and life.

By Anirban S

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May 20, 2020

We made a practice to have a design thinking session for most of our new projects and started engaging our work partners and other stakeholders. Our business partners are also keen on participating in these design thinking sessions. We learn from each other’s and came up with some innovative solutions

We have reduced the risk of heavy investment by using test and learn and prototype. We are open to out of box ideas and getting support from business partners and management

We have now started thinking more like an end customer or end users which defiantly enhances the quality of our solution and brings innovations. With a test and learn and developing prototypes we have reduced the risk of huge investment.

Customer co-creation and celebrating our success through story-telling is in best used and ensuring substance of the approach and product. Our story is simple but effective, It’s easy to replicate.

Team is motivated, Work partners are happy and being part of the management team, I am enjoying the journey.

Thank you.

By Roberto d G

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Jun 8, 2023

Professor Liedtka's course on design thinking surpassed my expectations, offering a thorough understanding of the subject. Her passion and expertise were evident throughout her engaging discussions. She had a talent for simplifying complex concepts, making them accessible and relatable. The practical applications of design thinking were skillfully illustrated through real-world examples. Professor Liedtka fostered an inclusive learning environment that encouraged active participation and respected diverse perspectives. Her exceptional teaching abilities and deep knowledge of design thinking enriched the course. I now have a profound appreciation for design thinking and its potential impact on future endeavors in the field of design.

By Nilabh U

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Sep 8, 2018

There are many approaches to problem solving and as its a vague and non conventional process often, it leads to directionless hard work and in turn deviates from the expected results. That is where Design Thinking comes in, and this course has helped me learn the structure of problem solving which can be applied universally regardless of what the problems are. I learnt that the approach to innovation is as important than the actual ideas itself and I am amazed at how much I have changed after completing this course. Results are of course rewarding but I am enjoying the process just as much.

I am thankful to Prof. Jeanne Liedtka and others for building this course and I hope I'll keep learning more and more in time to come.

By Laura M

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Feb 17, 2018

Such a fantastic course. The videos were compelling and I learned so much without the stress of homework. Perfect for full time working professionals who want to learn about design thinking, but do not have hours to invest in assignments. The professor was really excellent.

By Bryan A L J

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Sep 20, 2019

el curso es super interesante, son vídeos cortos y se te pasa super rápido el tiempo mirándolos ademas que la estructura de coursera te hace sentir como que vas subiendo de nivel completando objetivos y te animas a seguirle, me gusta :)

By Diana G

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Jul 22, 2019

Excellent course, good explanations with real examples!

By Aditya V

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Feb 5, 2016

This course is for me because innovation is my concern.

By Alexandra R

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Dec 19, 2018

Excelente aprendizaje!