In partnership with the Faculty of Design at Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD), we launched our first regional design challenge: Diseño Responde to activate Latin American youth to create solutions that address coronavirus from a local perspective. Overall, we received an incredible 399 designs, addressing a broad range of issues, such as protection for healthcare workers, remote-education tools for children, sustainable food shortage solutions. Five winners were then selected and entered into the Index Award 2021 pipeline.
In collaboration with Siemens Stiftung, we launched a multi-year collaboration to implement design thinking in STEM education across the globe. By combining STEM with design thinking, the project empowers both teachers and students with new skills to address real-world problems and fosters a new generation of young change-makers. To date, the collaboration has trained more than 150 South African and Latin American teachers in the DtIL methodology.
Boost Helsingør, run with Helsingør Municipality, worked to strengthen school students’ innovation competencies and up-skill teachers with Design to Improve Life methodologies. Across two years, the project comprised several design challenges and involved over 8,000 educators and students. In design teams, students in the entire municipality developed local design solutions to global problems, such as climate change and the refugee crises.
In 2022, we're continuing our collaboration with the Design Center of the Philippines. In February, we hosted five days of online workshops on DtIL Training and Implementation Workshop for about 35 Philippine designers. Later in the year, we'll be continuing the series of workshops with Train-the-Trainer Certificates.
Orano, the global nuclear fuel cycle company, came to us in 2021 with a clear mission for our collaboration: to raise the level of innovation in the company's organisational processes. Through innovation practices, they hoped to see new products within communication, greater clarity between the various departments and what the individual does and a better understanding of what the society around them thinks about what they now do as a nuclear waste management company.
In 2021, we initiated our collaboration with Orano. We hosted them in Copenhagen for a Designer's Masterclass and have since then continued providing them education services in 2022. These include DtIL Training, Implementation Workshop and Train-the-Trainer Certifications.
In February and March 2021, we ran virtual tool training programs for almost 70 Peruvian and Mexican teachers. The workshops were developed in collaboration with our long-term partners the Siemens Foundation and were our first education activity on Peruvian and Mexican. As of spring 2022, we're currently underway with Compass coaching and will be completing Train-the-Trainer sessions later in the year.
The programme has a focus on how to implement creativity and innovation in the classroom and the educators participating were recruited by our partner organisations Instituto APOYO in Peru and Innovec in Mexico.
To wrap-up 2020, we had the pleasure of hosting a three-day online workshop with the Design Center of the Philippines. The programme was eventful but an inspiring few days on Design to Improve Life.
The workshop introduced participants, including designers, teachers, makers and entrepreneurs, to working with our structure of innovative thinking to create sustainable solutions for real-life challenges. This was also the first time we debuted and tested our new digital education tools.
In 2020, GESS had 600+ exhibitors from over 40 countries and more than 12,000 visitors from over 90 countries. Visitors included government officials and advisers, teachers, Heads of Departments and Directors and education professionals from countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, India, China, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and many more.
In collaboration with Siemens Stiftung, we ran the second part of Design Thinking in STEM. The workshop was hosted by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Villarrica, Chile. The participants were educators from Chile, Mexico and Columbia, all of who work in the field of science and teaching at primary school level. We provided a way of applying creativity and design thinking to their scientific methodology and, essentially, taught them how to use the Design to Improve Life Compass to encourage innovative thinking in their daily classroom work – for themselves and their students.
In Cape Town, South Africa, The Index Project launched 'Design Thinking in STEM' - a pilot education program in partnership with Siemens Stiftung. The program combines STEM education with design thinking to foster a new method of innovative teaching. Workshop participants will implement these methods into their classes where students will address global challenges with a focus on empathy, teamwork and creative problem-solving. Additional programs will be rolled out in several other African countries, as well as Latin America and Germany.
The Index Project held a series of workshops in Dar es Salaam, in collaboration with the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). Participants were university professors and decision-makers at ministerial level and came from Uganda, Botswana, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya. The aim was to address local climate change challenges, in their respective countries, with design thinking methods.
In our long-standing partnership with Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration, facilitated by The Trade Council of Denmark, Taipei, we've held numerous exhibitions and workshops across the country. This snapshot is from our latest exhibit shown at The Taiwan Design Center.
From 2013-2017, we held 'Design Orbit' for selected Index Award finalists – a week-long business development program developed with Boston Consulting Group and Accelerace. The goal was to help these early stage cases sharpen their commercial businesses to eventually gain investment.
Our post-education programs have taught Design to Improve Life to all kinds of professionals across Denmark. In collaboration with municipalities, educational institutions and businesses, we've facilitated everything from one-hour workshops to three-month courses.
As a non-profit, we rely on the generous support from a global community of partners and donors. This has kept the mission alive and helped us scale our impact.
Your contributions, great and small, make a difference. Thank you!
