Re-inventing life in the swamp
[originally posted here] To borrow a delightful phrase from Soren Hansen and Henning Sejer-Jakobsen, one of the chief benefits of change labs for social innovation is that they allow us to lift our change process — “away from the swamp of everyday activities — routine, fear of failure, prejudice, bureaucracy and rules.” Instead, change labs offer […]
d.studio week 13: final climate smart review
Sauder commerce undergrads never cease to amaze me with their talent, commitment and creativity. At least the ones that choose to be part of the d.studio exhibit these traits. Last Wednesday was the final studio where we invited the CEOs of the 5 business that the students worked with during the major project of term […]
d.studio week 12: Under One Roof — CityStudio event
Talking again about blocks to thinking — creatively and critically. This time we reviewed emotional, cultural, environmental, intellectual and expressive blocks. This studio was given over to working on the Climate Smart Projects and preparing for the CityStudio event at the Salt Building on Saturday March 31. Week 12 was also a time for Florin […]
A Little Change in Product Design with Big Environmental Benefits
With a little creativity, an incredibly simple change in a product’s design can provide enormous ecological benefits. Seventh Generation, one of the world’s top brands of green cleaning products, is now shipping its Natural 4X Laundry Detergent in bottles made of cardboard as opposed to the usual plastic. These bottles, both recyclable and made from […]
General Assembly: Real-World Entrepreneurial Education
Post-collegiate students interested in entrepreneurship and in building their own companies are being presented with interesting, unorthodox ways to make connections and get educated. An inspiring example of this is General Assembly, a New York campus for technology, design and entrepreneurship which offers not a degree, but a curriculum which is hands-on, multi-disciplinary and constantly […]
d.studio week 11: prototyping a revised B.Comm.
The students in the d.studio never cease to amaze me. I feel energized by their presence. Week 11 was going to be a “studio-time” for their projects but an opportunity arose for them to help the Sauder Business School in its process of imagining a revised Bachelor of Commerce Program. The committee working on this […]
d.studio week 10: improv hits the studio
Sometimes it is time to wing it. To improvise. And get the energy flowing. This week in the studio Florin, our intrepid teaching assistant, took on the role of “improv” innovator. He even got a bit academic: Why improv? When participants are able to break free from cognitive, emotional, and behavioural bounds of socially […]
Top Business Schools Offer Creative New Programs
Two of the world’s leading business schools, Chicago’s Booth School of Business and Boston’s Harvard Business School, are really expanding their horizons. They are offering exciting, outside-the-box alternatives to traditional approaches to business education. Both are providing opportunities for students to experience learning which is more team-oriented, more hands-on and more focused on new ideas […]
d.studio week 9: Daved Barry visits from Copenhagen Business School
Sauder has a strategic alliance with the Copenhagen Business School (CBS). This means that we go way beyond the typical Memorandum of Understanding which can often (not always) just mean that institution x will cooperate with institution y and send a few students or faculty members on exchange. The strategic alliance has both business schools […]
d.studio week 8: six thinking hats + conditions for creativity
Playing catch up. Week 8 (almost two weeks ago!) followed the reading break week — which of course necessitated getting us all back in gear. One of the challenges of having the studio only once a week is momentum and the feeling that you have to pack a lot into 3 hours. On the other […]