Bina Rai1,*, Brian R. STONE2, and William SIEW3
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Design and Engineering (CDE), NUS
2Division of Industrial Design, CDE, NUS
3Spark-a-life, Singapore
Rai. B., Stone, B. R., & Siew, W. (2024). Empowering student engagement and community impact through co-design: A case study in health district [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-rai-et-al/
SUB-THEME
Opportunities from Engaging Communities
KEYWORDS
Codesign, empathy mapping, community engagement, health district, student empowerment
CATEGORY
Paper Presentation
INTRODUCTION
In the realm of design innovation education, the challenge of instilling empathy among engineering students is pervasive. Conventional methods like persona readings or video observations often fall short in equipping students to truly understand and address user needs effectively. This gap not only impedes innovation but also results in prototypes that remain unutilised, failing to serve their intended communities.
PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
To address these issues, a codesign approach was adopted, augmented by two novel empathy mapping methods: Care Circle (CC), and See and Shoot (SS) (Siew W, et al., 2022; Siew W, et al., 2023). Unlike traditional design processes, codesign involves stakeholders—including those directly impacted by designs—from the outset, fostering joint inquiry and ensuring solutions resonate with real-world needs. Our research questions were:
- How does the integration of CC and SS empathy mapping methods in a codesign approach influence engineering students’ understanding and application of inclusive design principles?
- Would collaborative experiences with community partners, industry experts, and residents enhance students’ problem-solving skills and innovation in empathic design?
IMPLEMENTATION: CODESIGN WEEK
We organised Codesign Week, which is a design sprint focused on developing transformative technologies for senior communities in a health district precinct. Undergraduate students from the autonomous universities in Singapore collaborated with community partners, industry experts, and senior residents from Queenstown and Whampoa. Guided by the CC and SS empathy mapping methods, interdisciplinary student teams engaged in problem-solving through empathic technology design. Students went on site visits (Figure 1), and engaged in focus group discussions with the community partners and seniors (Figure 2). They were then introduced to insights translation, problem-to-opportunity identification, brainstorming, and validation of solution ideas. The sprint culminated in a pitch and poster presentation by the students for the seniors on the final day.
Figure 1. Photographs of students on site visits with community partners at Lion Befrienders, ComSA (Tsao Foundation), and Huawei AI Lab.
Figure 2. Photographs of students actively engaging with the elderly.
EVIDENCE OF IMPACT
Indirect Measures (Student Perception of Programme)
Based on a 7-point Likert scale, the survey results from Codesign Week 2024 (n=15) revealed a high satisfaction level among participants. The overall experience received a mean rating of 5.73 +/- 1.03, and the programme flow was rated at 5.53 +/- 0.99, demonstrating the event’s well-organised structure. Co-instructors received positive ratings, with a mean of 6.07 +/- 0.88, and community partner engagement was rated similarly high at 6.13 +/- 0.92. Mentors’ support was also positively rated, with a mean score 5.93 +/- 0.96. The venue’s suitability was rated at 5.67 +/- 1.05, showing general satisfaction with the facilities.
Indirect Measures (Student Perception of Learning): Pre- and post-programe surveys indicated a notable increase in students’ perceived understanding of inclusive design principles and their confidence in addressing challenges related to the elderly in Singapore. The survey results from Codesign Week 2024 (n=15) revealed that 80% of respondents rated their understanding of design thinking principles at 5 or above, resulting in a mean score of 5.60 +/- 0.99. Similarly, 80% rated their improvement in collaboration skills at 5 or above, with a mean score of 5.93 +/- 1.03. The hands-on activities were valuable for learning about inclusive and empathic design, with 80% rating them at 5 or above and a mean score of 5.40 +/- 1.24. Instructors observed that participants managed challenges effectively, demonstrating resilience and adaptability.
Direct Measures (Evidence of Learning): The teams successfully codesigned empathic technology solutions that met community needs, leading to significant recognition. Notably, two teams using CC/SS methods secured second place and runner-up at a national level competition, Tech4City, organised by Huawei. The solutions have been adopted by bGood (https://nusbme.wixsite.com/bgood) for development and deployment into the community.
CONCLUSION
The Codesign Week not only enhanced student learning in empathic design but also catalyzed community impact through innovative solutions. This pedagogical approach yielded academic outputs and garnered community trust and interest, evidenced by invitations to lead further codesign discussions and collaborations. This case study highlights the potential of codesign methodologies to foster meaningful collaborations and innovations that address real-world challenges, offering valuable insights for educators and practitioners seeking to integrate empathy-driven design into educational curricula and community initiatives.
REFERENCES
Siew, W., Rai, B., Stone, B. R., & Ho, D. (2022). Designing for inclusive and engaged communities. Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2022.5.2.10
Siew, W., Silva, A., & Rai, B. (2023). Using likelihood ratio table and Naïve Bayes classifier method to holistically assess codesign programmes and methods. In Proceedings of the Design Society, 3, 3751–3760. https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2023.376