The Steelcase Forward Fellowship was a week-long executive education initiative and partnership between SCAD and Steelcase, for the purpose of exploring design thinking techniques and design research methods. The participants were a highly-diverse group of Steelcase executives from around the world who were eager to learn a new approach to human-centered design. I collaborated with four Design Management graduate students and several faculty to develop thought-provoking activities to engage the participants. I also co-facilitated the activities of the workshop for the duration of the event.
Event Preparation
As a facilitator for the event, I was involved in planning the design thinking and team building activities. We decided to do some playful activities as initial "ice breakers" which included tracing each person's silhoette against a paper-covered wall, and using yarn to map personal preferences on a bulletin board of options! I also had an integral part in designing and creating the team-building shield activity. Each activity was designed with the purpose of building trust and camaraderie among participants.