A Journey through Creative Thinking and Social Innovation
An unexpected beginning
When I started my semester abroad at Nova, I thought I would be sitting in traditional lecture halls for a semester. Instead, I found myself in a room full of colorful Post-its, creative practice methods and inspiring people. The course “Design Thinking for Social Innovation” at Nova University was set to change not just my thinking, but also my actions in the context of solution-oriented project work in a group.
Fostering Creative Spirit
The collaborative and interactive way of working in the course was refreshingly different from anything I had experienced in university lectures before. Each session was a new opportunity to expand horizons and experiment with different perspectives. Among the many exercises we conducted, one was particularly impactful: under time pressure, we had to solve a problem using very simple and initially unsuitable materials like wooden sticks or pipe cleaners. This task forced me to be creative with what was immediately available and was a lesson in resource awareness and innovative spirit.
I particularly appreciated how we reflected after each practical approach or workshop. This emphasized the importance of consciously taking time to think about what and how something was done, the results it produced, how it emotionally affected me and what improvements I would aim for next time.
Through this, we realized, for example, that the graphical accumulation of possible prototypes (solutions) works best when you are not already aware of the resources you will have available. The ideation process works best without boundaries and can be restarted step by step as new obstacles emerge.
“Step by Step”
A great saying that I will pay much more attention to in the future due to this course. Often, I want to start immediately with the first idea that comes to mind and drive the project to success with it. However, a one-time commitment does not have to remain the path to the goal. A project never runs linearly, there are always ups and downs and thus there is always the opportunity to rethink the project entirely. Even at a late stage in the project phase, it’s allowed to “throw things overboard”. Letting go of initial ideas, thinking further, making adjustments and yet starting again has retrospectively helped our project succeed. Design Thinking is also about ideation, prototyping, testing… to step by step achieve the best possible result.
Teamwork
A major insight from this course was the power of collaboration. Every idea brought into the group transformed, grew and developed further through everyone’s contributions. We learned to not only look at the end goal but to value every step of the process (a skill often lost in today’s hectic world). I also learned how important it is not to negate the contributions of others but to think them further.
From the Classroom to the Real World
What impressed me most was the opportunity to apply what we learned in the course to projects for real people with real problems. The complexity of social issues faced by people with migration backgrounds became apparent to me for the first time. Interacting with migrants, listening to their stories and experiencing their daily struggles and fears added a human dimension to the problem that our project needed to solve. These encounters showed me how important it is to develop solutions that are not only functional but also empathetic and inclusive to create true impact.
Additionally, the interest from the public (e.g., individuals from various companies, affected individuals and social organizations) at our final exhibition, where we presented our projects, was proof that ideas from young people without a large budget or a huge network can also mean life-changing transformations.
My advice
I would like to conclude by saying that each of us should dare more often to think creatively without the usual adult barriers. My call to action, which I pass on from the course to you, is: work occasionally with Lego, draw, mold figures from play dough! All methods that helped us tackle complex problems in a playful way. This approach allowed us to address complex social issues like the integration of migrants into the workforce in an innovative way, successfully and with enjoyment at work.
Thanks to all the participants of the course, especially to my group members and course leaders Anne-Laure and Beatriz, with whom learning and project work were a lot of fun. :-)
