The Ho Technical University and an innovation hub in Ho, Node 8 have held the maiden edition of Node X on June 22, 2022, at the Ho Technical University’s Computer Science Department.
The event, organized in collaboration with the Department of Computer Science, was part of Node Eight’s mission to equip tertiary students with innovative thinking skills to meet real-world challenges.
Mr. Adolf Sedem Adu, Head of the Department of Computer Science, in his keynote address, emphasized the department’s commitment to providing students with problem-solving skills.
He highlighted the importance of collaborating with organizations like Node Eight to bridge the “classroom-industry” gap.
In his concluding remarks, Mr. Adu underlined the value of students using creative problem-solving techniques and urged participants to incorporate design thinking into their everyday lives.
The interactive session began with participants sharing their diverse problem-solving methods. While only a handful agreed they had conducted some investigation into the problems, several claimed they founded their theories on assumptions.
Mr. Xorse Senanu of Node Eight then guided the participants through the design thinking process, including how to empathize with users, explore different ideation techniques, brainstorm radical ideas for providing solutions, and test their prototypes.
In a breakout session, participants worked together to pinpoint the specific design thinking techniques used by a team of Stanford University students to build the Embrace Infant Warmer, a portable incubator for infants. They also worked on a design challenge that involved creating a new student portal for the university.
One of the six groups that presented their solutions shared their boot camp experience.
“Design thinking was simply two English words combined. I had no idea what it was or what it stood for. Previously, our problem-solving approach was completely different. Instead of empathizing with the end-user, we based our solutions on assumptions, which never seemed to address any of the problems identified, However, the facilitator introduced us to a more innovative approaches to problem-solving during the boot camp”, team leader Seth Boye Afosah said.
“With design thinking, we no longer make decisions based on assumptions. Rather, we approach problems from the standpoint of the user. We can also think creatively and discover new solutions to unexpected problems.”
“The interactive nature of the design thinking boot camp stood out to me. I was impressed by how engaged the participants were during both boot camp sessions. This is one of my best investments. This boot camp has pushed me to think creatively. I’m eager to use these concepts in my final project.
Node X is a two-day (2) Design Thinking Bootcamp designed to equip individuals and organizations with creative problem-solving skills for today’s fast-paced world.
This interactive session will provide participants with the design thinking tools and mindset to create out-of-the-box solutions to emerging problems.
