Most universities aspire to produce job-ready graduates who can solve complex problems, work across cultures and adapt to change. Yet in many classrooms, students are rewarded for reproducing the right answers to familiar questions.
Rooted in design practice, design thinking is not entirely new. In higher education, however, it offers a structured way of solving problems using empathy, experimentation and reflection. We don’t teach these things enough.
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There are pockets of it in a handful of innovation modules and campus hackathons. But I believe it needs to be more prevalent in the way we teach and learn across the board. In my recent research on global competence and interdisciplinary learning, I reviewed 59 studies into how universities produce students who can navigate diverse cultures and contexts.
One observation is the heavy reliance on mobility. Specifically, if students can afford study abroad experiences to develop global competence, they get meaningful exposure. If they can’t, they participate in group projects as alternatives. Unsurprisingly, this creates an equity gap.
But we can close that gap with design thinking. By working on real problems with real stakeholders, students can develop global competence within their local communities, while collaborating with employers.
What design thinking actually brings to the table
You may have experienced design thinking workshops in the past. People sit in groups and populate a board with sticky notes. Implementing it across higher education requires more than Post-It notes on the wall.
First, it asks students to empathise. This involves spending time understanding the people affected by a problem, listening to their stories and suspending quick judgements. This may involve interviews, surveys or focus group discussions.
Second, it insists on reframing problems. In rigorously refining clear problem statements, students learn to ask whether they are solving the right problem in the first place. This is a powerful antidote to the risk of being a blind follower – a trait we’d want to avoid at university before students graduate into the workplace.
Third, it normalises iteration. Ideas are treated as prototypes rather than final products. Students test them out, learn from feedback and adjust over time, with check-ins with stakeholders along the way. This reframes failure as a source of information and inspiration.
Finally, it encourages collaboration. Design thinking projects are almost always team-based, interdisciplinary and involve stakeholders beyond the classroom. These efforts map closely onto the graduate attributes that many universities already espouse. The difference is how design thinking operationalises those ambitions in the day-to-day work of a module.
Embedding design thinking into the curriculum
The good news is that teaching design thinking does not require a complete curriculum overhaul. Small shifts can make a real difference. One starting point is to redesign assessments around briefs, not instructions, which opens up more possibilities in problem-solving.
As an alternative to asking students to write an essay, for example, invite them to work in teams to co-create solutions with a partner organisation. With design thinking tools, students can then generate and prioritise ideas before prototyping them progressively. The written component then becomes a reflection of this process instead of just an abstract analysis.
Faculty development matters too. Many colleagues can appreciate design thinking but are unsure how to facilitate it. Build their confidence with short practical workshops, where academics experience the process as learners. More importantly, avoid framing this new thinking as another fad, which is a dangerous pitfall, but rather as a way of further enacting student-centred learning.
Treating employers as co-educators, not just end users
If design thinking is to become a common language across education and work, employers have a crucial role to play.
Many graduate schemes already include innovation bootcamps or ideation challenges to excite the new joiners. However, these are often disconnected from the syllabi that students experience at university. They are positioned as a sharp turn into the real world, so to speak.
Educators can bridge this gap by co-creating projects with employers. For example, a local business might bring an actual problem to an identified cohort. Instructors and students would then collaborate using design thinking to explore the issue, generate ideas and test small-scale interventions. Employer representatives can act as reviewers at key stages, rather than simply appearing at a final pitch.
This integration of design thinking into existing practice benefits all sides. Students see how their learning travels beyond the classroom. Employers contribute to shaping student capabilities. Universities strengthen their claims about employability with concrete evidence.
Make design thinking a new literacy
Moving forward, let’s avoid thinking of design thinking as a specialist technique, and more as a literacy for all. Just as we expect today’s students to handle GenAI, collaborate well and work ethically, we can expect them to approach problem-solving with empathy, curiosity and a growth mindset.
For universities, this means asking some uncomfortable questions. If leadership and problem-solving align so closely with our graduate profiles, why is it still peripheral for many students? Design thinking offers an inclusive and accessible way to democratise effective problem-solving to the wider student body, not just those who can afford it.
For employers, it means recognising that design thinking is not just for innovation. When used thoughtfully, it can shape how managers lead change and create impact. Partnering with universities to cultivate these habits early is an investment in the future workforce.
None of these suggestions is easy. They ask academics to adjust familiar teaching habits and employers to see themselves as co-educators. Yet the alternative is to keep telling students to be agile and adaptable, without giving them the concrete tools to develop those competencies.
Teaching design thinking across higher education in collaboration with employers will not solve every problem facing the sector. But it is a practical step towards a more connected approach to learning – one that prepares students to not only think about employment but also impact.
Asrif Yusoff is senior lecturer and employability lead at the University of Greenwich.
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