Product Development Project

continuous learning menu

Research-based teaching with an immediate practical application, brought to you by PDP teachers and Design Factory researchers. We’re experimenting this year, and invite all PDP sponsors to join us in the following free activities. You get the best of learning opportunities, together with the PDP students and other PDP sponsors.

Read through our spread below, and sign up or contact Tua if you would like to learn more!


1) Design thinking tools for reframing the problem space

  • For whom: PDP sponsors and PDP team representatives
  • Time and place: Wednesday 6.11.2019 15.00-17.00  at the Design Factory Stage
  • Scope: match – working with PDP challenges, sponsors and students together
  • Learning goal: Noticing implicit assumptions and exploring multiple perspectives to the PDP challenge problems through design thinking tools.
  • Short description: In this workshop, we’ll introduce you to design thinking and try out different types and tools and practices to make assumptions and different perspectives visible, ranging from stakeholder mapping to question-asking exercises, all the way up to prototyping

2) Supporting innovative work: Ideation tools

  • For whom: PDP sponsors and PDP team representatives
  • Time and place: Thursday 14.11.2019 15.00-18.00  at the Design Factory Stage
  • Scope: mix – working with non-PDP challenges, sponsors and students together
  • Learning goal: Learn how to organize effective ideation sessions using a variety of methods.
  • Short description: In this workshop, we will cover the dynamics of effective ideation, and try out a range of different types of ideation methods, such as negative brainstorming and visual brainwriting, to ideate on how to better support innovative work.

3) Leading innovation projects

  • For whom: PDP sponsors and PDP student managers
  • Time and place: Monday 9.12.2019 16:30-18:30 at the Design Factory Studio
  • Scope: match – working with leadership challenges, sponsors and students together
  • Learning goal: To learn how to create and lead effective teams in innovation projects
  • Short description: In this workshop we will uncover the building blocks for unlocking the potential of a diverse team and learn how to lead and support the iterative development process in innovation projects. As well, there will be a short introduction to “Difficult Conversations”, a tool for leaders in projects.

4) ABCs of prototyping in co-creation

  • For whom: PDP sponsors and PDP student team representatives
  • Time: February 2020
  • Scope: match – working with PDP challenges, sponsors and students together
  • Learning goal: Learn to gain insights and advance your project through experiments and prototypes together with your stakeholders.
  • Short description: In this co-creation workshop, the sponsored projects will be advanced together with PDP teams, sponsors and users if possible. You will learn about the benefits of using low resolution prototypes to communicate and try out ideas.

5) Communicating concepts

  • For whom: PDP sponsors and PDP student team representatives
  • Time: March 2020
  • Scope: mix: working with non-PDP challenges, sponsors and students together
  • Learning goal: To learn the basics of visual and verbal storytelling to support communication.
  • Short description: In this session, we will explore how to use verbal, visual, and embodied communication tools to deliver clear messages. This facilitated workshop is intended to give participants the tools to create and deliver visual presentations that impact audiences.  

6) Self-leadership at work

  • For whom: PDP sponsors and PDP student team representatives
  • Time: March 2020
  • Scope: mix – working with non-PDP challenges, sponsors and students mixed
  • Learning goal: To find a balance between personal and professional vision and goals.
  • Short description: In this workshop, we will work with personal goal setting in the context of your work and your organization. We look at visions, goals, contributions from both sides, and propose “Creative mapping”. This tool will help you reflect on the ideal organization vs. ideal career life.

7) Implementing innovative ideas – Driving change in organizations

  • For whom: PDP sponsors only
  • Time: April 2020
  • Scope: mix – learning from other PDP sponsors
  • Learning goal: Learning how to champion and smuggle new ideas in organizations
  • Short description: In this workshop, we will go over different tactics for advancing new ideas and change in organizations, identify where frictions, speed bumps and allies could be in your own organization and develop the first steps in action plans to address these. 

Teachers

  • Tua Björklund DF Co-Director, Assistant Professor

    tua.bjorklund@aalto.fi
    +358 50 511 3182

  • Senni Kirjavainen Researcher

    senni.kirjavainen@aalto.fi
    +358 50 521 5964

  • Anna Kuukka Design Coordinator

    anna.kuukka@aalto.fi
    +358 50 537 2664

Tua BjörklundPDP pilot