How do we create user-friendly solutions to the problems that influence our work with adult learners and the impact we can have? This was the main argument behind the creation of the D-LEARNING project with partners from Germany, Denmark, Cyprus, Austria and North Macedonia. 

As described by the School of Design Thinking in the University of Potsdam

“Design Thinking is a human-centered, iterative, team-based mindset that leads to breakthrough innovations. With its fusion of creativity, shared leadership and efficiency, Design Thinking can help overcome yesterday's working models and transform traditional organizational cultures.”

The methodology has been mainly used in product development for tech companies, bringing innovation and new approaches to their design process. In a world that is constantly changing, it is also important to adapt and transform the strategies that each organization or company might have, to avoid ‘being left behind’. That is also, why the partnership consisting D-LEARNING decided to bring this process in a different context, aiming at reinforcing organizations’ approach on adult learning. 

Three members of CESIE attended from 11/03/2019 to 14/03/2019 a Design Thinking Training Course in Berlin as part of the project with experts on the methodology, where the main challenge dealt with was how to motivate adult learners not to abandon a potential training opportunity.

Through the Training Course, the team had the opportunity to become familiar with the stages of Design Thinking (Understand, Observe, Synthesize, Ideate, Prototype, and Test) and gather tools for self-reflection, developing characters and prototypes, brainstorming, interviewing the users etc. During the 4 days the participants, working in interdisciplinary teams, gathered knowledge about various realities, perceptions and views in relation to specific needs of users that they met in the streets of Berlin or through contacts of each partner country. Analysing all this, the teams went through the Design Thinking process and tested innovative solutions for the different problems that they identified in the general challenge. 

As a follow-up, the teams that participated in the training course started themselves the process of Design Thinking in their local realities. For the team of Palermo, one of the first steps was to identify the existent challenges with adult learners in the city and moving forward with finding solutions. The local challenge is planned to last until the beginning of October and it will lead to the creation of a manual for the Design Thinking methodology with case studies from each partner country that can assist any individual who wants to apply the methodology in their own local context.