Learner Experience Design Symposium and Toolkit
About this Project
This project aimed to bring staff and students with an expertise in design thinking from across the HE sector together to develop a shared language and knowledge around learner experience design. This community of practice supported the design and development of a toolkit to support staff and students involved in gathering learner experiences and co-creating new learner opportunities. Through a series of events, including a symposium and monthly meetings, we provided an opportunity for colleagues to come together to share experiences, thoughts, and opportunities for collaboration.
Project Impact
Throughout this project, we created a community of practice including colleagues from Warwick and beyond. Through a series of workshops, events and monthly meetings, we shared experiences, ideas and co-created a common language around learner-centred design. We implemented a holistic approach to evaluating the impact and reach of this project. This included a pre-engagement survey to establish colleagues' initial thoughts and hopes for the community, a series of interviews following the symposium, Padlet reflections and meetings to establish the potential impact of the project.
Project Aims
- To formalise and disseminate the Learner Experience Design Toolkit
- To boost Warwick’s reputation as a thought leader in design thinking and learner experience design
- To unify the various HE communities, develop and propose a recognised methodology and shared language around the use of design thinking for learner experience design in the UK HE sector
- To formalise the Learner Experience Design Toolkit
- To disseminate the Toolkit to the wider community both at Warwick and beyond
- To support staff and students in the use and application of the Toolkit in their home institutions
- To collect data on the impact of the Toolkit, report findings and iterate the Toolkit
- To disseminate the findings and a refined version of the Toolkit with the HE community
Legacy
The project has created a sustainable community of practice and opened up collaborations between colleagues who participated in the project. A deck of cards has been designed and prototyped to provide a resource for staff and students beyond the project to consider design thinking approaches, reflect upon their practice and gain some top tips. This resource continues to evolve and will be shared with the wider HE community. The team has also developed a number of resources, including a community of practice on LinkedIn and a podcast series by the student officers, which documented their experiences of this project.
The project partners are working to disseminate both the qualitative and methodological findings of this project through a variety of publications including podcasts, blog posts, book chapters, conference papers and journal articles. Throughout the project, the team critically evaluated design thinking approaches to the leaner experience and the benefits of collaboration within the community of practice. It has additionally given all staff and students involved national exposure and an opportunity to grow their reach and impact outside of Warwick.
By going beyond Warwick, we have learnt more about the opportunities that Designing Together can bring and plan to run a similar scheme at Warwick. We have also developed new collaborative opportunities to work with colleagues from the Service Design In HE network, the University of Hull and the University of Leeds in new projects and developments and have also raised the profile of Warwick as a leader in this area of work with colleagues beyond Warwick. This includes recent presentations at the AUA (now AHEP) and RAISE.
Project Lead
Dr Lory Barile
Economics
Project Co-Lead
Jess Humphreys
Academic Development Centre (ADC)
Project Co-Lead
Dr Bo Kelestyn
Warwick Business School (WBS)