Kathleen’s School-to-Work Journey

Gabriela Freitas Design Thinking – Jul-Aug/2013

Agenda

•  Kathleen’s Feedback •  Brainstorming & Selected Ideas •  Empathy Map •  Problem Statement

•  Meet Kathleen •  Career Mindset •  Educational Journey •  Learning Experience •  School-to-Work Transition •  Kathleen’s 5-years career plan

Selected Superpowers Prototype

Kathleen’s Feedback

Instead of the changing the learning method or transporting herself to the work environment through mediators, Kathleen prioritized abilities to improve

communication, to change herself and to transform her own reality. Insight!

Power Sensing Join  an  associa)on  related  to  your  

area  of  interest  to  improve  networking  and  extend  knowledge  (e.g.:  ITAC  -­‐  Informa)on  Technology  

Associa)on  of  Canada)

“We spend a lot of time complaining about how health care technology sucks in this country, why not make the effort to connect with others who are trying to come up with solutions just like you? It reduces duplicate efforts, if you have similar ideas, and it also increases the possibilities of coming up with something that will be really valuable.”!

Test

Prototype

Test

Selected Superpowers

Instead of the changing the learning method or transporting herself to the work environment through mediators, Kathleen prioritized abilities to improve

communication, to change herself and to transform her own reality. Insight!

Merging    

Offer  small  local  business  to  apply  what  you're  learning  in  school  to  their  business.  Both  parts  win  with  the  

experience.

Connect  with  a  Health  Care  professional.  Understand  their  job,  

the  challenges,  and  share  ideas.  Work  on  a  solu)on  for  a  simple  (but  

relevant)  problem/need  together.  

“I like these two because they make more sense to me. How can you start imagining a career after work if you’ve got no real hands on experience? Same goes with application/solutions development, if you do not understand the problem from a users perspective it is impossible to come up with a viable solution.”

Kathleen’s Feedback

Selected Superpowers

Instead of the changing the learning method or transporting herself to the work environment through mediators, Kathleen prioritized abilities to improve

communication, to change herself and to transform her own reality. Insight!

Sonic Scream Become  a  voice  in  your  area  of  interest.  Share  informa)on,  share  experiments,  ask  ques)ons,  write  essays,  suggest  solu)ons  and  start  conversa)ons.  Get  involved,  put  yourself  out  there  and  be  open  to  connect  with  other  people.  Use  social  media  (such  as  blogs,  Facebook,  TwiRer,  LinkedIn,  etc.)  in  your  favor.  

“I’m trying this out at the moment. As a developer or IT person, the presence has to do with the following!

"1. GITHUB- to be respected as a coder, you’ve got to be willing to put a portfolio on display!

"2. BLOGGING- chatting about ideas as well as documenting your progress is very respected by future employers!

"3. TWITTER- get lots of followers (working on it)!

"4. Linked-in... have a full profile and get support from friends for showcasing skills”!

Kathleen’s Feedback

Prototype

Test

Selected Superpowers

Instead of the changing the learning method or transporting herself to the work environment through mediators, Kathleen prioritized abilities to improve

communication, to change herself and to transform her own reality. Insight!

Reality Warping

Start  your  own  business  now  and  adapt  your  learning  experience  to  the  challenges  you  face  in  the  process.

Kathleen’s Feedback

“#YOLO. As someone just getting out of school, it is the best time to start you own business. Yes, you may make mistakes and fall on your face but then you have a more in-depth point-of-view about what real business requirements are. You will be a much greater asset to future employers with some independent learning on your hands. Other side-- you may actually succeed and never have to worry about finding your own job again.”!

Prototype

Test

Perception & Communication

Empathy -­‐  Apply  for  volunteering  in  hospitals  or  con)nuing  care  centers  in  Toronto.    - Join  an  associa)on  related  to  your  area  of  interest.

Power Sensing

Transportation Summoning -­‐  Ask  friends  and  family  to  involve  you  in  problem  

solu)on  challenges  they  face  in  their  jobs. Portal Creation -­‐  Write  companies  asking  for  the  opportunity  to  

spend  a  week  learning  from  their  professionals. Dimensions Travel -­‐  Ask  friends  and  family  to  join  them  for  a  day  at  

work.

Reality Manipulation Animation -­‐  exercise:  Apply  what  was  learned  in  school  to  your  

household.

Reality Warping -­‐  Start  your  own  business  now  and  adapt  your  learning  experience  to  the  challenges  you  face  in  the  process. -­‐  Do  extra-­‐curricular  courses.

Brainstorming Ideate

Developing Kathleen’s Superpowers

Method Oriented Chi

-­‐  Ask  teachers  to  incorporate  real  life  case  studies  during  lectures.    -­‐  Ask  teachers  for  assignments  to  solve  real  life  case  studies.    

Mentally-Based Superhuman Memory

-­‐  Summarize  the  extensive  notes  taken  during  lectures  and  experiments  into  a  short  form  reference  document  in  bullet  point  form.  It  is  a  quick  reference  material  that  can  be  useful  in  the  workplace.

Self-Change Pheromone Manipulation

-­‐  Take  the  )me  to  create  an  aRrac)ve  professional  profile  for  yourself.  Make  sure  to  bullet-­‐point  the  knowledge  acquired  over  the  years  in  University.

Telescopic Vision

-­‐  exercise:  simplify  the  thinking  process  behind  what  was  learned  in  school  applying  it  in  daily  ac)vi)es. -­‐  exercise:  every  )me  you  see  something  you  really  like,  imagine  yourself  in  a  mee)ng  room  with  all  the  people  responsible  for  making  it  a  success.  What  goes  on  there?  Exercise  your  thinking  of  needs,  resources  and  solu)ons.

X-Ray Vision

-­‐  Offer  small  local  business  to  apply  what  you're  learning  in  school  to  their  business. -­‐  Connect  with  a  Health  Care  professional.  Work  on  a  solu)on  for  a  simple  (but  relevant)  problem/need  together.   -­‐  Become  a  voice  in  your  area  of  interest.  Get  involved,  put  yourself  out  there  and  be  open  to  connect  with  other  people.    Use  Social  Media  in  your  favor. -­‐  Get  a  job,  any  job,  and  find  areas  where  you  could  apply  what  you're  learning  in  school  to  improve  yours  and/or  the  business'  performance.

Merging

Sonic Scream

Elasticity

Selected Superpowers Ideate

“I selected the ones I am most likely to do.”!

Instead of the changing the learning method or transporting herself to the work environment through mediators, Kathleen prioritized abilities to improve

communication, to change herself and to transform her own reality. Insight!

Power Sensing Join  an  associa)on  related  to  your  

area  of  interest  to  improve  networking  and  extend  knowledge  (e.g.:  ITAC  -­‐  Informa)on  Technology  

Associa)on  of  Canada)

Reality Warping

Start  your  own  business  now  and  adapt  your  learning  experience  to  the  challenges  you  face  in  the  process.

Merging    

Offer  small  local  business  to  apply  what  you're  learning  in  school  to  their  business.  Both  parts  win  with  the  

experience.

Connect  with  a  Health  Care  professional.  Understand  their  job,  

the  challenges,  and  share  ideas.  Work  on  a  solu)on  for  a  simple  (but  

relevant)  problem/need  together.  

Sonic Scream Become  a  voice  in  your  area  of  interest.  Share  informa)on,  share  experiments,  ask  ques)ons,  write  essays,  suggest  solu)ons  and  start  conversa)ons.  Get  involved,  put  yourself  out  there  and  be  open  to  connect  with  other  people.  Use  social  media  (such  as  blogs,  Facebook,  TwiRer,  LinkedIn,  etc.)  in  your  favor.  

Empathy Map Empathize

“I’m an early twenty-something trying to figure out what exactly I want to be when I grow up.”

“I was going to learn how to save the world.”

“Face the job-force and actually contribute.”

“There is not much I have learned from University that I would not have been able to learn outside but it will give me a bit more respect on the other side.”

“We are only being prepared in getting the best marks on a 50 question multiple-choice exam- that is not real life.”

- It is only natural that aspirations will change with time and experience, but it seems fair to say that the University contributed to structuring Kathleen’s career goals.

- Traded Traditional, Prestigious and Academic Education for Hands-On, Progressive, Community oriented Education.

- The feeling that the educational organization is not prioritizing what matters “in real life” and the lack of engagement between institution and student turned university into a mere formality.

- Somewhere along the line, the learning experience ceased to be the main focus and the certification at the end of the course became the ultimate goal.

SAY THINK

FEEL “Next step for me is to truly brand myself, figure out what makes me different from every other Joe-Shmoe out there and learn to project that to the world.”

Problem Statement Define

A highly-personable, dynamic and culturally curious student of Commerce in IT

Management, with great confidence and strong goal orientation needs a better

way to incorporate “real life”/work and education because this could help her

understand what differentiates her from other professionals out there.

Name: Kathleen

Age: 23

Status: student at Ryerson University

Lives in Toronto/ON, Canada

Personality: highly personable, dynamic and

culturally curious.

Lifestyle Segmentation Profile: “Succeeder”*

Brief description:

“I’m currently working on my Bachelors of Commerce

in IT Management. I chose to pursue this degree

because it is the most applicable University degree to

what I want to be doing when I graduate. I would like

to own or manage a product development company

specializing in the Health Care field. This is why I am

working on a certificate in Health Informatics at the

same time, also at Ryerson.”

“I’m an early twenty-something trying to figure out what exactly I want to be when I grow up.”!

* Meaning: Strong goal orientation, confidence, and need for control. Based on 4 C’s - Young & Rubicam’s Psychographic Segmentation Tool. For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/18ZCdEl

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Meet Kathleen Empathize

Career Mindset

“I am more aware at this point of what kind of human capital we need in this world right now. I am currently pursuing a degree that, I hope, will give me more concrete skills to face the job-force and actually contribute.”

“I was going to learn how to save the world.”!

“I seriously considered entering college first to learn plumbing or another craft, something that would always be in demand. After spending a year abroad I decided to study International Development at McGill.”

Before University:

After University:

“Face the job-force and actually contribute.”!

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It is only natural that aspirations will change with time and experience, but it seems fair to say that the University contributed to structuring Kathleen’s career goals. Insight!

Empathize

“After three years at McGill, I learned what true University Bureaucracy was and decided that it wasn’t for me. When deciding where I would go to next, Ryerson was by far my top choice. Ryerson offers the designation of being a University but with the hands on perks of being a College.”

“Ryerson is Canada’s leader in innovative, career-focused education and a university clearly on the move. It is a distinctly urban university with a mission to serve societal needs, and a long-standing commitment to engaging its community.” *

“McGill University is one of Canada's best-known institutions of higher learning and one of the leading universities in the world. With students coming to McGill from some 150 countries, our student body is the most internationally diverse of any research-intensive university in the country.” *

Traditional, Prestigious, Academic Hands-On, Progressive, Community Oriented

* Information retrieved from each University official website’s “About” pages.

traded for!Insight!

Educational Journey Empathize

“I am not a typical student, I struggle learning through normal classroom delivery which means most of my learning is done independently. I am hoping that this year, my final year, I will be able to learn things which are a bit more applicable to my field. It helps that I now have a more concrete grasp on what I would like to do after graduation.”

“Being completely honest, there is not much I have learned from University that I would not have been able to learn outside but it will give me a bit more respect on the other side.”!

Somewhere along the line, the learning experience ceased to be the main focus and the certification at the end of the course became the ultimate goal. Insight!

Learning Experience Empathize

“We are only being prepared in getting the best marks on a 50 question multiple-choice exam- that is not real life.”!

The feeling that the educational organization is not prioritizing what matters “in real life” and the lack of engagement between institution and student turned university

into a mere formality. Insight!

“Give me real life challenges; how to hire someone, fire someone, how to

adjust fix my accounting books or how to find a bug in my software and I

would say that university was very

beneficial.”

“If I were a bit better at networking and stuff I would probably say (it

helps) for sure. Because I spend most of my time away from

the University Organized events I

would have to say no.”

Empathize

School-to-Work Transition

Kathleen’s 5-years career plan “ By the end of the next five years I see myself owning my own product management firm, even if I am the only employee. I am currently working at getting there by taking every opportunity I can, independent from school, to learn everything there is to know about Continuing Care and Health Informatics alongside some interesting tech things. ! Next step for me is to truly brand myself, figure out what makes me different from every other Joe-Shmoe out there and learn to project that to the world.!!

"" "" "" ""Wish me luck!”!

Empathize