Ideate Assignment for Design Thinking Course

1. Problem:
A Young engineering graduate needs help in dispelling her worries regarding joining a new
company as a full time employee for the first time because she think corporate environments
are strict and harsh and do not accept new comers easily
Ideas
1. Compulsory internships for students
2. Encourage working and studying together
3. Making education more practical and hands-on than theory
4. Industry interaction through talks and workshops
5. Companies sponsoring some courses/subjects
6. Practical projects for students
7. Teacher training to be modified so that they can make classes more practical
8. People from industry to take classes
9. People with industry exposure to be given preference for teaching positions
10. Ice breaker sessions in the company
11. Industry/company visits
12. Mentorship/ allocation of a mentor for each new joiner in company
13. Groups/Associations of peers from same institute in company
14. Talks/interaction sessions by top management to new joiners
15. Fun sessions in the company
16. Taking new joiners out for team lunch/dinner
17. Interactive games to help enhance team bonding
18. Moulding students in a corporate environment in colleges itself through team discussions, mock
appraisals etc.
19. Helping students gain skills in using corporate tools like PowerPoint, MS-Excel early on itself
20. Encourage students to participate in competitions organized by corporates and others
21. Help students develop technical writing skills
22. Establish an industry-interface cell in the college, that will be managed by students
23. Organize routine brainstorming, extempore and presentation sessions in college
24. College-organized internships/projects that will be a compulsory part of college
25. Connecting with college alumni in companies and experience-sharing sessions
26. Confidence building classes/measures for students in their final year/pre-final year

2. Selected Ideas
 Compulsory Internships for students/Working and studying: Internships, though of a short
duration is one of the best ways to get the corporate feel. While it exposes you to the way a
single company works, multiple internships can help students get a feel of different work
cultures and atmospheres. Hence colleges should give equivalent weightage to internships as
they do for course work and reward students who take up more number of quality internships
related to their study and do well in their roles as interns. This will also help bring the company
and the college also in close collaboration.
 Mentorship programmes and ice-breaking sessions in Company: This will help increase the
comfort levels of the new joiners and also ensure them they have someone whom they can
approach when in trouble. The Mentor should also be evaluated on a 360 degree feedback from
the mentee.
 Encourage students to participate in competitions organized by companies: This is helpful in
two ways:
1) Bright students will come within the radar of the companies and therefore have brighter
career prospects and employment opportunities
2) It will help students interact with industry professionals who will be judges and the
organizers. This will also help the students in networking with professionals