Published:
The Technopreneur Club of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) organised a one-day design thinking workshop on 1 March 2024 for its members and other students to delve into basic design thinking. Partnering with Luxtag Sdn Bhd, the club offered a hands-on workshop to equip students with essential methodologies and prototyping skills.
Prior to the workshop, the participants were asked to submit ideas about their perceived societal challenges or problems that they would like to work on during the workshop. The trainers vetted all the ideas and eventually shortlisted 4. On the day of the workshop, the session began with the shortlisted contributors giving an overview of their ideas to the rest of the participants. With that, 4 groups were formed, and each group decided to work on 1 of the shortlisted ideas.
The trainers, Rene Bernard and Elmi Haryadi, co-founders and directors of LuxTag Sdn Bhd, highlighted to the participants the importance of incorporating empathy in the design process and presented some techniques for understanding user needs and perspectives.
Next, the workshop moved to an interactive mode, with participants conducting interviews with their group members to understand the user needs. Then, they analysed the data from user interviews to create user personas. Both these sessions allowed students to firm up their earlier ideas. According to one of the participants, Thomas Yong, a Foundation in Business student, the group had to change the earlier idea they initially worked on after the empathy session and user persona creation. This signifies the importance of the design thinking process in generating ideas.
The workshop progressed quickly to the most exciting session, prototyping. Participants used online software tools to convert their ideas into visual representations. As the prototypes took form, teams went back and forth, consulting the trainers and possible users for input and feedback. Thanks to this iterative approach, teams were able to modify and develop their solutions in response to immediate feedback.
Finally, it was time for the pitching session. With just five minutes to convey their pitches, they showcased their prototypes with passion and conviction to communicate their vision to the audience. This pitching session acted as a platform for presentation and an opportunity for direct communication, with teams taking questions and feedback from others. Acting as judges, the trainers provided helpful advice and guidance to develop the team's pitch further. Their presence emphasised the value of collaboration with the industry.
The workshop ended on a high note, with some participants expressing their interest in further developing their prototype into a minimum viable product.