University News Last updated 02 January
MA Design Management students bagged prizes for ‘best idea’ and ‘best presentation’ at a Dragon’s Den-style event held at Birmingham City University (BCU) on 29 November 2023
The exciting finale event recognised students’ hard work, innovation, and creativity during a six-week, student-led design project that ran alongside the InterAct-funded project.
Aleina Tomlinson, Student Rep for MA Design Management at BCU, said: “Everyone stood up and presented; for some of us, this is a new challenge. Each of us got a certificate of recognition. Even if we did not win, our effort was recognised. We had a great experience. We learnt so much from this and we feel a sense of confidence.”
The awards
The prize for the ‘best idea’ was awarded to the team that proposed an adaptive digital learning tool named AMLA to train employees in digitalisation. The prototype brought the idea to life and highlighted the user journey of the learner through the different aspects of the digital tool.
The ‘best presentation’ award went to the team that used user-focused storytelling and created a seamless visual presentation that captivated the audience and the panel.
The panel
The Dragons’ Den panellists included Dr Susan Lattanzio, Director of Centre for People-led Digitalisation at the University of Bath, Sangeetha Rammohan, senior consultant at PWC, Dr Iryna Yevseyeva, Associate Professor Computer Science at DeMontfort University, Nicholas Irvin, Senior Lecturer Design Management at BCU, Isabelle Uner, Research Fellow InterAct Project at BCU, and Isaiah Nassiuma, Research Fellow InterAct Project at Loughborough University.
Dr Susan Lattanzio shared on LinkedIn: “It was a great experience. I got to hear some exciting pitches focussed on improving the adoption of digital technologies. I agree – the students did smash it!”
Sangeetha Rammohan congratulated students and staff: “It was a pleasure being part of the panel and learning about the amazing work the students have put in towards such a thoughtful and industry-relevant opportunity of Human Centred Digitisation! I loved each presentation. Thanks to Dr Mersha Aftab Puente, Nick Irvin, and Isaiah Nassiuma for supporting the students on their learning path.”
The prizes were sponsored by the Made Smarter Innovation: Centre for People-led Digitalisation.
The brief
As part of the project, four teams worked on a brief to better understand the behavioural and psychological factors that influence readiness for digital adoption in the UK manufacturing sector. They explored individual variables such as attitudes, behaviours, and psychology towards adopting digital tools.
Students identified their focus and ideated solutions by applying approaches such as problem scoping, design sprint, co-creation, ideation, user-centred design, user journey mapping, and personas, and created unique value propositions.
Pictured: MA Design Management students taking part in the Dragons' Den-style event on 29 November 2023.
Discover more
Read more about the InterAct-funded project, which aims to use empathy to inform people-led change management and improve readiness for digital adoption.
Find out more about MA Design Management.