About

Contemporary problems and their solutions can be defined as complex adaptive systems because they emerge from the daily behavior of seven billion people looking for better standards of living when confronting the challenges and opportunities shaped by the unprecedented interconnectivity of the world economy, the global society, and the natural environment.

This course explores applying design methods and strategic thinking through open innovation practices for leveraging the interconnectivity of markets, technology, finance, and social networks in order to envision sustainable solutions with an impact on the local lives and wellbeing of communities.

 
 
 

Key Values

Learning
through prototyping
Rigor & Discipline
through methods

Craftsmanship
through attention to details
Comfort with ambiguity
through iteration

Empathy
through active curiosity & respect
Insight & Leadership
through collaboration

 
 

Awards and Honorable Mentions

The outcomes and work of the workshop have won many awards and been recognized by prestigious technology, business, and design magazine and awards. The recognition serves as a testament to our approaches to excellence and its ability to push boundaries, inspire others, and make a significant mark within the design field.

 
 
 
 

Leading Instructor

 

  • Lead Instructor
    Teixeira is the Charles L. Owen Professor in Design at IIT Institute of Design (ID), where he teaches graduate courses and advises doctoral students on the strategic use of design capabilities in complex spaces of innovation. He is also faculty director of the Action Lab and the PhD program Coordinator.
    - Linkedin Profile -

 

Collaborators
A community of collaborators including professors and PhD researchers who navigate complexity and uncertainty through new methods and practices, share a culture of awareness for worldviews, global society, and the natural environment, engage in research through prototyping, and experiment in the real world.

 

  • An Associate Professor at IIT with a joint appointment at the Stuart School of Business and the Institute of Design (ID). She also co-directs ID’s Food Systems Action Lab. As a sustainable systems scientist, her research, teaching, and practice are oriented around transitioning socio-ecological systems towards sustainability and equity.
    - LinkedIn -

  • Deaa is a design expert, who blends academia with practical design consultancy. He co-founded the design program of Jordan University of Science and Technology. His expertise spans strategic choice-making in the energy, mobility, health, and food sectors. Engaging as an advisor contributed to design consultations and tech startups. His PhD work is on studying the transformation of public infrastructures into private platforms and vice versa, focusing on sustainable, equitable, and intelligent design outcomes like EV charging and cashless payments.
    - LinkedIn Profile -

  • Jessica is an expert in equity-focused design practices, design management pedagogy, and creative processes. She is currently a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech. Her research and professional career focuses on designing for equitable economies, framing equity as an innovation driver, and developing inclusive design management pedagogy.
    - LinkedIn -

  • Andre is the CEO of Leap and an Associate Faculty of Design at Johns Hopkins University and is affiliated with Brown University School of Public Health. Former Deputy Director of the D-Lab at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which he co-founded in 2019, André began his career in design as a PhD Researcher at the Institute of Design at Illinois Tech while also helping create the school’s Action Lab.
    - LinkedIn -

  • Jordan is a Capital Designer and Partner at Fuse Strategy, with 15 years of experience working in, and with, some of the world's largest institutional investors. His research investigates how design can influence institutional investing via Capital Design. He previously led strategy and innovation roles in Investing and Pensions at OMERS.
    - LinkedIn Profile -

  • Rudd is a designer, community organizer, and youth worker with a passion for social justice. He has worked tirelessly with youth on the South and West Sides of Chicago, challenging them to engage with their communities through activism and technology. Chris joined the Institute of Design in 2019.
    - LinkedIn Profile -

  • Schmidt is an Associate Professor. Her teaching and research focus on the intersection of humanity-centered design’s deep understanding of here-and-now latent user needs with behavioral economics’ “evergreen” insights into human judgment, decision-making, and behavior. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art/semiotics from Brown University and a Master of Design, with a concentration in design strategy, from ID.
    - LinkedIn Profile -