The GDTA Spotlight session on March 23rd, 2023 was about “Art thinking and design thinking in University College Cork: An innovation ‘marriage’ made in heaven.”
Our speakers talked about the similarities and differences between Design thinking and art thinking and their way of solving problem as creative approaches. At University College Cork, the dual power of both approaches is already being harnessed in innovation programs.
About our speakers:
Dr. Fiona Chambers is a senior leader in higher education with 30+ years global experience in education, sport and innovation. She has a very strong background in leading strategic design in multinational educational environments. Fiona has an extraordinary ability to educate people to solve complex problems through human-centred innovation.
Her teaching, research and civic engagement focuses on three core overlapping areas: (i) sport pedagogy, (ii) education and (iii) innovation and design thinking. She believes that her scholarship must have a positive impact on the lives of citizens. She is a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy and former Head of the School of Education at University College Cork in the Republic of Ireland.
In addition, she is the only Hasso Plattner Institute licenced Design Thinking Coach in her area and the only Certified Facilitator of LEGO® Serious Play® Method in her field. She is the founder and co-director of an Irish government funded Postgraduate Diploma for Innovation through Design Thinking, which is run jointly by the School of Education and the Cork University Business School. She is currently the elected President of the International Association for Physical Education in Higher Education (AIESEP) and is serving a four-year term.
Dr. Briony Supple is a Senior Lecturer in Design Thinking Pedagogy and Praxis in the School of Education at University College Cork (UCC), Ireland. She has over 20 years of educational experience working in a variety of countries and settings, including Japan, China, Vietnam, Chile, the UK, and Australia. Briony’s passion is for learning and teaching which is inspired by creativity, play and a growth mindset.
Briony has published extensively on inclusive, learner-focussed approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment and innovations in learning spaces. Her current work includes creative, hands-on approaches to teaching and learning in higher education through Lego Serious Play and ‘Art thinking’ – a fusion of design thinking with artistic practice.