Course: Design Thinking for Innovation  01-10-2020

Assignment

Reflection - Visualization

Challenge and Selection.

I am one of the five Co – founders of University of India Organization, a Community Based Organization  operating in Nakivale refugee settlement with a noble mission of promoting youth through  Education and Trainings. This organization started as a simple English club with one goal of  teaching and improving English language skills since May of 2010 up to August 2012. A refugee  settlement is an area with a bunch of opportunities but as a team it was not a piece of cake to  identify them and have the same insight on how we could take advantages from them and  improve. I have used various techniques such as Mind Mapping while collecting data from  English program beneficiaries on what should be done in order to improve and overcome youth  challenges within the Settlement. The responses given by my learners were too rich in  information and took me into idea generation. I started to visualize how our organization  should look like and what should be done to achieve more, extend our goals and attract funders  for our new programs. Visualization tool was the master of the game in our problem solving.

Application .

The Organization is now on a stage where some volunteers turned into permanent workers  with a regular salary per month. Despite of being in a strategic area with a plenty of  opportunities, it was not easy to identify them and have the same visual thinking on how to  explore them.

Through Visualization technique, I convinced my fellow Co-founders and enhanced them to  have a picture of what was a hindrance toward our development. The core challenges we had  was the lack of our own address (working space) and discrepancies on how we could turn our  English club into an Organization with different activities and objectives to attract funders  so  that it could move us from unemployment zone and assist a good number of our fellow refuges  (youth). In every meeting, I could expose my dreams and make sure that every participant is  able to picture and figure out what I was trying to extrapolate and communicate. I showed  them how quite possible it was to own an office and hall by mobilizing and motivating our  beneficiaries (English learners) for bricklaying. We had no means to afford the cost of an office  and hall construction but I showed them how possible it was to get funders and supporters if  we make a request for a plot and obtain a construction space. With bricks on our disposal they  finally sow that anyone could give us a hand in rising up walls. I also portrayed how having our

own address (office and hall) could unlock different doors of success and enhance us to extend  our programs and goals with assurance, which is the fact today.

Insight and Approach.

As Co – founder, we all had dreams and we wanted to make them real but in different ways and  it was hard to convince each other the good way to go. By help of visual thinking we were able  to penetrate into every one’s mind and discover what will work for our organization, how we  had to proceed from step one to the final step.

If I try to go a bit far from what Angela Meyer said about Visualization in the first week,  Visualization as design thinking tool does not only help to see ideas in shape of pictures and  give you the image of what you are looking for, it also gives courage, hope for positive  outcomes and determination once you find out ways and tricks to develop your concepts in a  visual way. It is the most favored tool that I prefer whenever I am trying to solve a problem  simply because it requires to take time, explore ideas in a visual way, extrapolate and tackle the  problem with an idea of a probable solution.


Course : Design Thinking for Innovation 01 - 10 - 2020 Assignment Reflection - Visualization Challenge and Selection . I am one of the five Co – founders of University of India Organization , a Community Based Organization operating in Nakivale refugee settlement with a noble mission of promoting youth through Education and Trainings . This organization started as a simple English club with one goal of teaching and improving English language skills since May of 2010 up to August 2012 . A refugee settlement is an area with a bunch of opportunities but as a team it was not a piece of cake to identify them and have the same insight on how we could take advantages from them and improve . I have used various techniques such as Mind Mapping while collecting data from English program beneficiaries on what should be done in order to improve and overcome youth challenges within the Settlement . The responses given by my learners were too rich in information and took me into idea generation . I started to visualize how our organization should look like and what should be done to achieve more , extend our goals and attract funders for our new programs . Visualization tool was the master of the game in our problem solving . Application . The Organization is now on a stage where some volunteers turned into permanent workers with a regular salary per month . Despite of being in a strategic area with a plenty of opportunities , it was not easy to identify them and have the same visual thinking on how to explore them . Through Visualization technique , I convinced my fellow Co - founders and enhanced them to have a picture of what was a hindrance toward our development . The core challenges we had was the lack of our own address ( working space ) and discrepancies on how we could turn our English club into an Organization with different activities and objectives to attract funders so that it could move us from unemployment zone and assist a good number of our fellow refuges ( youth ) . In every meeting , I could expose my dreams and make sure that every participant is able to picture and figure out what I was trying to extrapolate and communicate . I showed them how quite possible it was to own an office and hall by mobilizing and motivating our beneficiaries ( English learners ) for bricklaying . We had no means to afford the cost of an office and hall construction but I showed them how possible it was to get funders and supporters if we make a request for a plot and obtain a construction space . With bricks on our disposal they finally sow that anyone could give us a hand in rising up walls . I also portrayed how having our own address ( office and hall ) could unlock different doors of success and enhance us to extend our programs and goals with assurance , which is the fact today . Insight and Approach . As Co – founder , we all had dreams and we wanted to make them real but in different ways and it was hard to convince each other the good way to go . By help of visual thinking we were able to penetrate into every one ’s mind and discover what will work for our organization , how we had to proceed from step one to the final step . If I try to go a bit far from what Angela Meyer said about Visualization in the first week , Visualization as design thinking tool does not only help to see ideas in shape of pictures and give you the image of what you are looking for , it also gives courage , hope for positive outcomes and determination once you find out ways and tricks to develop your concepts in a visual way . It is the most favored tool that I prefer whenever I am trying to solve a problem simply because it requires to take time , explore ideas in a visual way , extrapolate and tackle the problem with an idea of a probable solution .