PETALING JAYA, Aug 1 — Genovasi has the potential to address civil society challenges in the country.
Academic director of the Hasso-Plattner Institute School of Design Thinking in Potsdam University in Germany, Dr Claudia Nicolai, Genovasi said the institution is one of the first to address civil society programmes on a larger scale.
“Design thinking (DT) is not just limited to product design but the way we live and work together,” she told Malay Mail.
She added she was astonished by Genovasi’s achievements in offering related programmes.
“We realised in the beginning Genovasi would not be one of those institutions that would simply ask for our blueprint. They instead opted to co-design a programme with us. There are some institutions that just want our franchise but that’s not what we look for in an institutional partner.
“Genovasi aimed big by wanting to train 1,000 students a year over five years, which I think is bold but also achievable,” she said.
One of the lessons within the DT module teaches students not to be afraid of failure, said Nicolai.
“We realise people here are well-trained and are really good when it comes to applying analytical skills. What we needed is just to foster more creativity.
“We usually do not account for failures of past ventures as part of the road to success, but it is one of the approaches we take into consideration. It acts as a way for people to learn from the lessons of their past mistakes,” she said.
Nicolai added Genovasi would continue to grow with a focus on civil society through training for teachers and schools.
“The challenge now is training not just facilitators but great facilitators who can develop their own style of coaching and learning programmes.”
