I am passionate about teaching and mentoring youth. Over the years, I have professionally taught more than 100 public courses across Asia, Europe, and the U.S. on User-Centered Analysis and Conceptual Design. Additionally, I have served as a visiting faculty member and jury member at leading design schools in India and the U.S.
My current focus is on helping young minds develop Design Thinking as a critical 21st-century competency. I have collaborated with several nonprofits in India and the U.S. to facilitate hands-on workshops for middle and high school students, equipping them with problem-solving, creativity, and innovation skills.
Design Thinking for Youth
WHAT
Design Thinking is an iterative problem-solving process that helps us understand users, challenge assumptions, and redefine problems to uncover alternative strategies and solutions that may not be immediately apparent.
At its core, Design Thinking takes a solution-oriented approach, offering both a way of thinking and working, as well as a set of hands-on methods. It involves shifting mindsets, reframing questions, and exploring problems from new perspectives to drive innovation and creativity.
WHY
In recent years, Design Thinking has become mainstream, widely adopted by Fortune 100 companies and startups to create user-centered products and services. However, traditional school curricula still lack exposure to Design Thinking methodologies and a human-centered approach to problem-solving. Introducing these concepts early can equip students with essential skills for the future.
WHO
This workshop is designed for students aged 12-16 years (7th to 10th grade), introducing them to Design Thinking while helping them develop critical 21st-century skills, including critical thinkig, creativity, collaboration and commuunication.
HOW
This daylong workshop combines individual and group exercises to help participants learn and practice various Design Thinking methods. The workshop focuses on the following key areas:
- Human-centered problem solving
- Understanding user needs through empathy
- Turning insights into ideas
- Building rapid prototypes
- Giving and receiving feedback
- Communicating ideas with conviction
WHEN and WHERE
- Dates – Workshops are held on Saturdays or Sundays during major school breaks or long weekends. Customized workshops are also available for small groups of adults and youth.
- Location: Pleasanton and Fremont, California
- Capacity: max 20 participants per workshop
- Timing: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm (parents are welcome to join the first and the last 30 mins)
- Fee: $125 per participant
- Included: All materials, lunch, and afternoon snacks
Learn about my approach to Design Thinking or see Case Studies where I have used it to solve real world problems.
Interested in learning more or attending a workshop?
Watch a short video on Design Thinking from Stanford D-school
(Duration: 2 mins)
abhijit.design 