Laura Whitmore | Academic Services Manager  | University of Gloucestershire
Matthew Scott | Faculty Administrator | University of Gloucestershire

It seems ironic to say, but change has always been a constant within the UK Higher Education sector. This is even more evident in the current climate due to the continued political uncertainty in the UK. There is a growing need for UK-based HE institutions to not only react to change, but also to pre-empt, design and drive it.

The purpose of this workshop is to showcase the potential benefits design thinking can have on strategic change. Delegates will be able to explore tools and techniques utilised in Leadership by Design theory (LBD) in order to embed design thinking within a HE organisation or team.

Facilitators will share their experience of adopting LBD principals, reflecting upon the challenges and opportunities realised along the way.

Delegates can expect a fast paced, interactive workshop. Discussion will be open and honest to ensure participants learn and understand how a “Design Thinking” mind-set can be applied, whilst being provided with a tool bag full of techniques they can deploy within their own organisations.

Learning outcomes;
•Ability to recognise when Leadership by Design principles can be used
• Ability to recognise the impact of a Leadership by Design mindset
• To understand the concept of “design thinking”
• To learn how to apply and adopt Leadership by Design in higher education
• To learn how to identify when design thinking can drive strategic change

‘”…but we have always done it this way!”’  is a working session at the AUA Autumn Conference 2019. Here our session speakers talk about the journey that lead to this point.