Designing Together
About us
The Designing Together Resources have been designed and developed by Dr. Bo Kelestyn and Jess Humphreys.
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Dr. Bo Kelestyn
Hi, my name is Bo! I am a design thinking academic and practitioner, and an Associate Professor at the Warwick Business School.
I am the creator of the Warwick Secret Challenge, a problem-solving workshop with elements of design thinking, which has become a key methodology to tackle innovation challenges at Warwick through authentic student-staff co-creation. I also co-created the Warwick Employability and Sustainability Challenges.
I am working closely with colleagues within WIHEA and externally with Advance HE to share this work nationally, including via a podcast series on this topic, championing the use of design thinking in Higher Education. I am currently working on a book chapter as part of the SD4HELink opens in a new window, and a relaunch of the podcast under a new identity now called SX by Design.
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Jess Humphreys
Hi, my name is Jess and I am the Director of the Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA), the UK’s first institutional academy of educators for staff and students dedicated to advancing learning and teaching excellence. WIHEA fosters inclusive partnerships and supports the education and student experience strategy, embedding innovative approaches to learning and teaching.
I previously led the Learning Design Consultancy Unit (LDCU), bringing together colleagues from across the University of Warwick, and providing space for sharing practice and support around the design of blended learning. The impact of the LDCU work has been recognised nationally with an Advance HE Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) in 2022. I employ design thinking methodologies within my practice, supporting colleagues with their projects and exploring new ways to embed the student voice in design, particularly around digital education.
Acknowledgements
The Designing Together project and cards would not have been possible without the support and funding of the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL), the Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA), the creativity of Inca Hide-Wright and Nikita Asnani, Designing Together Student Project Officers, support of Dr Lory Barile (Associate Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, University of Warwick) and all the staff and students who have over the years participated in design thinking activities and generously contributed their time and insights.
The cards have undergone several iterations, but it was the first round of feedback collected during the Designing Together Symposium that gave us the encouragement we were onto something and the constructive feedback to continue developing the cards. We would especially like to note the invaluable support and contribution of Jean Mutton, Dr Ann Kaegi SFHEA, Rich de Blacquiere-Clarkson and the Leeds design community.
We are also immensely grateful to all the colleagues who took part in the Ahead Together Conference, and the opportunity to share the cards with a range of student success communities thanks to Professor Rebecca Freeman, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (Education), University of Warwick.
Huge thanks to Jo, Jenny and Sarah from Imaginate Creative and the Graphic Arts Group for bringing the vision to life.
Finally, thank YOU, for taking an interest in the cards! We hope you love these, use them lots and share them with others in your community.