One week at a design school — as a lecturer
For a long time, I have planned to go back to the university where I studied — this time not as a student but as a lecturer. I wanted to inspire rather than just be inspired. It would be a new role and a new perspective for me.
Last week I finally had this chance and gave a lecture at the HTW — University of Applied Sciences. Students were welcome to join my course entitled:
Mobility as a Service
I framed the short-term course like this: “Car manufacturers are building hardware but the car of the future is a piece of software. The digitalization in the automotive industry is still stuck. But at the same time, topics like “Autonomous Driving” and “Connectivity” are today’s top buzzwords.
During this project we will try to define “Mobility” in a new way. In small groups we will discover problems, generate ideas, and uncover solutions by prototyping. Your approach can be an App Prototype, an Internet Service or a Product Concept. You can choose whether your project is happening today or twenty years in the future.
Part of this university project includes an expert interview and an excursion to Product Studio Goodpatch (in Berlin, Kreuzberg).”
My goal was to emphasize output with a hands-off approach from my side. We had five days so it seemed best to manage our time according to our standard design process.
An initial opening talk kicked off the week
The week started at the HTW in Berlin, my former university. I was happy to welcome six young students in the very same rooms in which I was studying just a few years ago. It was a small but very engaged group of design students.
I prepared some slides around the current state of “Mobility” and tried to map out a comprehensive picture for them. The talk was supposed to be the initial inspiration before we formed three groups. To make the task more tangible I provided four different scenarios that the students were able to scale. From a contemporary Connected App up to a futuristic Autonomous Driving concept.
After this phase, we looked deeper into the chosen scenarios to define a problem space. The students started to research, interview people, and create surveys.
One project proposal was to bring Berlin’s most famous (almost cult) van rental company “Robben & Wientjes” to the digital age. Two teams chose this challenge.
Problem space — interviews, personas and user journeys
The second day started at the Goodpatch Studio. Initially I thought about giving a company intro, but the students had such drive that it became more important to take advantage of the energy and jump immediately into the project. After a quick “check-in round”, I let them take charge. The groups spread out to conduct more research and build a proper base for their concepts.
My main role was to give the students examples along with jumpstart support in preparing interviews, personas, and user journeys. It was super interesting to see the different speeds and approaches of all teams. Some already had good results from online surveys and others scheduled interviews for the whole day. I was impressed how self-organized third-term students are — not sure if I was back then.
Solution space — ideation and frustration
This was the day the concept phase started. The three groups needed to convert their thoughts into a tangible concept and user-friendly screens. It was an intense day with ups and downs for all teams. By the end of the day many of them didn’t know where in the process they were at the moment.
It looked like they had achieved a lot, but there was still much more was ahead of them. I expected this moment a bit earlier, but I knew for sure that this moment would come. This is the time when a breakthrough is near. I was flattered that some of them stayed extra hours and shaped their concepts. The Robben&Wientjes team struggled maybe the most, but they also took the biggest step forward during that day (and night). Everybody was looking forward to Thursday.
Prototyping — input, output and boost
The next morning we were still using the Goodpatch studio as a workspace. I gave some design input to the whole team. I thought it was necessary to bring the students together and give them a lesson in rapid prototyping. Everybody jumped back to Post-its to get an overview of the structure, navigation framework, and complexity of their services.
After this we went deeper into wireframes and UX patterns. Some did moodboards or proper UI work already and I was satisfied with the amount of progress at the end of the day. We were close to completion and the six students gave an interim presentation. Some Goodpatch colleagues were also around to give feedback from a design practice perspective.
It was a day of great development. I asked the students to reflect back on the day before and see their progress. Everybody was quite gratified with the day’s work and my young lecturer heart was beating proudly.
Wrapping up and presentation
The fifth day was all about finishing the prototype and preparing the final presentation. We kept presentations short because I knew the students had heavy workloads from their other classes. I demonstrated a structure where each group would explain derivation, concept, and prototype.
The presentations went well and the students were happy. I asked for feedback about my teaching style and thankfully received positive comments. One guys said that he liked the hands-off and non-authoritative approach. All of them were surprised how much they could achieve in five days. I asked if they would have preferred to get more input from me as a lecturer, but some answered that it was more valuable to generate output and learn from that rather than listening to a talk everyday.
It was a great experience for me and fit well into my regular work. It is good to step back from your daily tasks for a week and get input from people outside of your working routine. It was also kind of a flashback for me and a good opportunity to get to know the new generation of students.
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