Design Thinking for Innovation

Reflection

Challenge and Selection

I am a college student who is pursuing an undergraduate course in Production  Engineering. I was recently introduced to a technology called 3D Bioprinting where  tissues, and other biostructures can be ‘printed’ layer by layer to form a 3D final  structure. Although the ultimate goal of the industry is to be eventually able to  ‘print’ a human organ that can be transplanted into a human body, the technology  is still very new and we are many years away from such an application. Lately, I  have been thinking of starting a project with a small group of like-minded students,  in the field of 3D Bioprinting. However, the path is far from clear and we have been  contemplating the feasibility of such a project with the time and financial  constraints we have as students.

To mitigate the problem of lack of clarity and to set a clear starting point, and to  set achievable goals that adhere to a realistic timeline, I decided to draw out the  main thoughts we have regarding this, using a mind map. The idea was to use this  tool to at least have a better understanding about the ‘What is?’ of the situation

Application

Please find the mind map I constructed in the next page.

Insight

Creating the mind map, required me to think deep about my motivations,  aspirations and about the technical practicality of the whole thing. I feel I was able  to eliminate several cognitive biases such as the confirmation bias to a great degree  as I feel such biases are more prevalent when thoughts are just passing through the  mind like clouds. Writing things down forces the mind to actually think and dissect  a thought- its causes, effects and everything in between. I was able to have a better  picture about the ‘What is?’ of the situation and also insights about ‘What if?’ which  I can use for the next phase of planning.

Approach

Although this is a technology and research-based project, design thinking is very  relevant as the whole project revolves around the interaction and contributions of  people, especially since we are working as a team. Since every member of this team  brings a different skill to the table and since the project would be crippled without  even one of the team members, I feel a great starting point, even before actually  starting the project would be to encourage everyone in the team to build a mind  map, paying special attention to their motivations for embarking on this project.  Finally, all the individual mind maps can be combined into a single “master mind  map” for the project as a whole.


Design Thinking for Innovation Reflection Challenge and Selection I am a college student who is pursuing an undergraduate course in Production Engineering . I was recently introduced to a technology called 3D Bioprinting where tissues , and other biostructures can be ‘ printed ’ layer by layer to form a 3D final structure . Although the ultimate goal of the industry is to be eventually able to ‘ print ’ a human organ that can be transplanted into a human body , the technology is still very new and we are many years away from such an application . Lately , I have been thinking of starting a project with a small group of like - minded students , in the field of 3D Bioprinting . However , the path is far from clear and we have been contemplating the feasibility of such a project with the time and financial constraints we have as students . To mitigate the problem of lack of clarity and to set a clear starting point , and to set achievable goals that adhere to a realistic timeline , I decided to draw out the main thoughts we have regarding this , using a mind map . The idea was to use this tool to at least have a better understanding about the ‘ What is ? ’ of the situation Application Please find the mind map I constructed in the next page . Insight Creating the mind map , required me to think deep about my motivations , aspirations and about the technical practicality of the whole thing . I feel I was able to eliminate several cognitive biases such as the confirmation bias to a great degree as I feel such biases are more prevalent when thoughts are just passing through the mind like clouds . Writing things down forces the mind to actually think and dissect a thought- its causes , effects and everything in between . I was able to have a better picture about the ‘ What is ? ’ of the situation and also insights about ‘ What if ? ’ which I can use for the next phase of planning . Approach Although this is a technology and research - based project , design thinking is very relevant as the whole project revolves around the interaction and contributions of people , especially since we are working as a team . Since every member of this team brings a different skill to the table and since the project would be crippled without even one of the team members , I feel a great starting point , even before actually starting the project would be to encourage everyone in the team to build a mind map , paying special attention to their motivations for embarking on this project . Finally , all the individual mind maps can be combined into a single “ master mind map ” for the project as a whole .