The document summarizes interviews with business students on their educational experiences and career goals. Key findings include: 1) Students found project-based work to be the most impactful learning activity but it is underutilized. Lectures focus too much on memorizing facts rather than practical application. 2) Experiential learning through client projects, simulations, and competitions are ideal for applying knowledge. 3) Students see design and design thinking as applicable to all business problems and a way to discover innovative solutions. However, they need more opportunities to translate ideas into tangible solutions. 4) Students' career goals focus more on creating meaningful impact and change rather than job titles. However, many currently lack confidence in their

1. Key takeaways from business students on educational
offerings, design thinking, and future careers
Project date: May – Aug 2013
Amy Chong
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
They spoke and I listened!
Challenge:
>What are the gaps between the
educational offerings and what
students need to enhance their
learning experience?
>Does design or design thinking
play a role in the future of
graduate education?
>How do graduates envision their
future careers?

2. DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
I interviewed an eclectic bunch of MBAs who all have a deep
passion for design, innovation, and the human side of business

3. Assessment of today’s business school
education
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only

4. Description ImpactActivity
Traditional lectures •Professors speaking at the front of the
class for the entire lecture
Case-based discussions •Read HBR cases and prepare answers
to questions provided for class
discussion/debate
Exercises before theory •Students do practice problems,
activities, or mini projects before
professor gives the lecture on theory
and approach, then students revisit
prior work
Memorize facts •Read textbook/lecture slides for
written assessments
Project-based work •Work with team members to tackle
ambiguous and complex problems that
have multiple moving parts
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
Students found that project-based work has a high educational
impact, however, this learning activity is often underutilized

5. DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
Learn
Apply
Learning experience Implications
•Do not have an opportunity to refine tools
and skill sets gained from lecture
•Creates disconnect between theory and
real-world application; students have
difficulties applying what they know
•Cannot understand how the knowledge and
skills from each course come together
(i.e. holistic perspective)
Students also experienced a lack of practical application
opportunities, which are critical to the learning lifecycle

6. Experiential learning must be a key focus
for tomorrow’s education
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only

7. “I love to have the freedom to
explore and experiment with
ideas.”
“I need to get my hands
dirty for things to
stick.”
“Learning isn’t about getting
the one ‘right’ answer they’re
looking for.”
“I learn by pushing the
boundaries and taking risks.”
“I learn so much more working
with people.”
“I want to be thrown into
real-world problems that I
don’t understand.”
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
The best learning experiences are those that allow students to
get their hands dirty, experiment, and actively explore ideas

8. Description Priority
Experientiallearningactivities
Client-based
projects
•Current real-world problems presented by non-
profits, corporations or local businesses to teams
•Program runs for 4 to 8 months for students to apply
everything that they’ve learned so far
High
Partnerships
with student-led
clubs
•Competitions and challenges within business school
and across faculties (E.g. engineering, design)
•Knowledge sharing and application through live
cases aligned with course material
Med
In-class
simulations and
experiments
•Role play situations, cases, theory
•Games (E.g. the famous beer game to emulate supply
chain process and theory)
•Develop prototypes to test and critique
High
Bite-size
experiences
•Boot camps, workshops, hack-a-thons
•Students can practice and make mistakes quickly
•Sessions can last for 1 week or over a weekend
Med
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
Experiential learning sample; the insights from what creates a
great/bad learning experience are the foundation of these ideas

9. Student’s perspective on design &
design thinking
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only

10. DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
Design
change
function
creative
needs
tangiblebeautiful
form
ideas
people
Design
thinking
user-
centered
human
perspecti
ve
holistic
focus
approachstrategy
designer
mindset
analytical
intuition
Design is bringing form to ideas, while design thinking is a process to tackle challenges.
However, both concepts share many of the same fundamental principles.
Students found it difficult to come up with distinct definitions;
the words used for each concept show they are closely related

11. Good design is good business.
Good business enables good design.
0% 0% 10%
60%
30%
1 2 3 4 5
Scale rating (1-no value to 4 – excellent value)
Students rate the value
of design to business
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
Key thoughts
Design is applicable to all business
problems and ambiguous challenges
Design thinking helps people discover
innovative ideas organically
A design lens considers analytics &
people when making business decision
1
2
3
Some gave off the
charts rating!
Regardless, students understand that the core principles of
design and design thinking can be applied to achieve their goals

12. The footprint that we want to leave:
career goals & aspirations
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only

13. “I want to work for a brand that
I truly love […] My goal is to
lead some kind of change that
will positively impact the
brand.”
“I want to build things that
people will find useful.”
“I want to be a life long learner
and to create change.”
“My dream is to push the
technological development in
Canada.”
“I want to foster safe learning
environments.”
“I look for opportunities to
better my life and the lives of
others.”
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
It is not about the job title (E.g. CEO, VP), but creating a
meaningful, powerful change

14. DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
Students participated in a brainstorming/discovery workshop
with DE:RE to design the career that they would love to live

15. DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
They described the types of problem that make them tick, the
lifestyle they want to form, the emotions they crave, the dream
play space, and the people they want to build things with

16. DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
They want every aspect to bring ‘excitement’ to their lives; they
want their work to keep them up at night (in a good way!)

17. DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only
The common denominators of students’ analogy for their future
career: impactful, unique, exhilarating & forever changing
My work tomorrow will be like a
magical jack-in-the-box
My work tomorrow will be like a
growing seed
My work tomorrow will be like
Alice in Wonderland

18. 20%
60%
20%
I can do it
I think I can do it
I don't think I can do it
yet
Students’ personal assessment of their
ability to achieve their goals immediately
Reasons
•Need more help in translating ideas into tangible
solutions
•Not sure if I can make the optimal decisions; need to
practice critical thinking and model-based decision
making
•Still in the discovery phase. I have general/high level
goals, but I don’t know exactly where I’m going
However, many students are unsure of their ability to achieve
their big dreams at this point of their education
Students know the power of design can help them achieve their goals. Now, experiential
learning will bridge the gap between knowing and doing.
DRAFT – for discussion
purposes only