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LUMEN | PROGRAMMES
Practical Applications
By Ow Yong Zhi Qi and Shaun Koo using Business Design Thinking
The process that Business Design Thinking leads the students through help them to think big yet be able to empathise with the users . Lumen gains insight into how the students deal with actual situations and their thoughts on the programme .
Lumen decided to find out from the students doing Business Design Thinking ( BDT ) what they have been up to since the programme was last featured in the second issue of Lumen in December 2011 . John Shutler , Justin Nyoe and Mark Chan of class Fintan 103 told Lumen , they and their classmates were posed with a real problem : the road congestion at SJI in Bishan . This year ’ s BDT project challenge was to design an efficient method to control traffic flow in SJI since a large bulk of parents arriving at a certain time causes the congestion .
An interesting moment Mark had was the brainstorming of ideas . His solution to the idea was big , big enough to envision building an antigravity ramp above the roundabout as an alternate route . However , his idea was not so
enthusiastically received when another boy said , “ Or , we could just make the road wider to occupy two lanes .” Needless to say , SJI has its fair share of dreamers and realists .
the most important benefit from the BDT programme is that while ideas must ultimately be practical and well-scoped to meet customer demands , all entrepreneurs must not restrict their minds to conventions .
Comments from the students made it clear that from the entire programme , the brainstorming of ideas was the part that was most memorable . It would appear that students enjoyed thinking of solutions when given the liberty to
conjure up anything that they can imagine . To use a cliché , the sky ’ s the limit , at least for these students .
It was also reassuring to find out that the BDT course also proved fruitful for the students .
They acquired important skills that will serve them throughout their lives , such as good understanding of the needs of potential customers in their future businesses that will truly enable them to create more innovative and beneficial products . Moreover , the students have also realised the importance to be meticulous and precise in the tasks entrusted to them .
When asked whether they would do the course all over again , the answers from the students were largely positive .
However , probably the most important benefit from the BDT programme is that while ideas must ultimately be practical and wellscoped to meet customer demands , all entrepreneurs must not restrict their minds to conventions . Instead , they must be open to fresh , creative ideas that will truly spur our world to greater heights . Clearly , SJI students have gained this crucial knowledge from the BDT programme and have been nurtured into great thinkers . They are ready to revolutionalise our world .
The Business Design Thinking programme in SJI is developed in collaboration with Rotman DesignWorks of Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto , and DesignWorks Singapore at Singapore Polytechnic . It enables lower secondary students at SJI use their creativity and innovation to produce a proposition that is orientated around business . It has the goal of grooming Josephians into distinct leaders who possess skills in both analytical and design thinking processes that have the potential to make a meaningful and innovative impact in our society . It is an excellent chance for students to attain a deeper understanding and empathy with people who might use their products .
This page ( top ): BDT students engaging Minister of Education Mr Heng Swee Keat regarding their project
This page ( bottom left ): Morning traffic on the SJI campus