Course Description:

„Design Thinking for Impact“ is an engaging, hands-on course that introduces students to the power of transdisciplinary design and digital storytelling to create meaningful social change. Throughout the course, students will learn how to design impactful digital content by combining creativity with design thinking principles. The goal is to inspire students to use their passions and interests to tackle global challenges, give voice to important issues, and drive positive change in their communities and beyond.

This course is ideal for creative students who are eager to use their talents to make a difference. It requires no prior knowledge—just an enthusiastic mindset and a desire to create. The course will be taught in a practical, interactive format, focusing on collaborative, team-based projects and real-life scenarios. Students will work together to develop digital storytelling content, utilizing digital tools to communicate their ideas and solutions to global issues. They will learn through trial and error, debate, and hands-on creation, emphasizing experimentation and creative problem-solving.

Course Breakdown:

Introduction to Design Thinking and Impactful Storytelling:
In the first session, students will be introduced to the basics of design thinking, focusing on how it can be used to address global challenges. They will explore the concept of digital storytelling, discussing its role in creating social impact.

Empathy and Defining the Problem:
This session will focus on developing empathy for the people or communities affected by the issue being addressed. Students will learn how to conduct research, gather insights, and define a problem clearly to guide their storytelling process.

Ideation and Creative Collaboration:
Students will learn various ideation techniques to brainstorm creative solutions to the problems they’ve defined. In this session, they will also collaborate in teams, practicing how to combine individual ideas to create a more robust solution.

Prototyping Digital Content:
In this session, students will start creating prototypes for their digital storytelling projects. They will explore different multimedia tools and learn how to craft stories that are both compelling and informative, using visuals, audio, and text.

Testing and Refining Ideas:
Students will test their prototypes, gather feedback from peers and mentors, and learn how to refine their digital content. This session will emphasize the importance of adapting to feedback to improve their work.

Presenting and Sharing Stories for Impact:
In the final session, students will present their digital storytelling projects to the group. They will reflect on their learning journey, discussing how design thinking has shaped their approach to solving global issues. The session will also include a discussion on how to continue creating impactful content beyond the course.

By the end of this course, students will not only have developed valuable digital storytelling skills but also gained the confidence to use their creativity to address global challenges and make a difference in the world.