Ideas to Solutions in 90 Minutes
Throughout this fall, Destination Medical Center (DMC) Economic Development Agency will be partnering with several area universities and organizations to host Design Thinking workshops for students, business representatives, entrepreneurs and community members in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Free to all participants, these workshops are part of the lead-up activities for the DMC’s Assistive Tech Challenge pitch competition.
The partnering organizations include Luther College, St. Catherine University, Houston County Economic Development Agency, Minnesota State University, Mankato, University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and CoLab, Winona State University, St. Mary’s University and The Garage Cowork Space in Winona.
Locations:
Oct. 3: Dahl Centennial Union at Luther College, Decorah, IA
Oct. 8: Women’s Health Integrative Research Center at St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN
Oct. 22: North Ballroom, La Crescent Area Event Center, La Crescent, MN
Oct. 29: Minnesota State University, College of Business, Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Mankato, MN
Nov. 5: The Garage Cowork Space, Winona, MN
Nov.14: CoLab, Eau Claire, WI
A Design Thinking workshop will also be held in Rochester, MN, with a date and location soon to be announced.
These workshops will teach the art of design thinking to address problems and create solutions in just 90 minutes.
Design thinking is a process for creative problem-solving using a human-centered approach that includes:
FRAMING: understanding the current situation from a human-centered and empathetic point of view.
IDEATING: conceptualizing and exploring ideas that might address unmet needs.
EXPERIMENTING: trying out ideas in order to learn more.
“Participants will learn how to take their idea from a raw concept to a workable solution in a fast-paced, hands-on workshop,” said Chris Schad, workshop organizer and director of business development for DMC’s Discovery Square.
Ideas that emerge from the workshop will help participants prepare to submit those ideas to DMC’s Assistive Tech Challenge, a business pitch competition to facilitate greater independence for individuals with disabilities and the daily challenges they face.
The Assistive Tech Challenge is scheduled for April 4, 2020 in Rochester. More details to be shared later this fall. Questions can be directed to [email protected]