A disruptive model for delivering higher education programs within the context of entrepreneurship education

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this practitioner paper is to explore whether the principles of Design Thinking and the Lean Startup could be employed in developing a disruptive model for delivering educational programs within higher education in a way that attempts to eliminate the multitude of problems facing this industry, while simultaneously adhering to the principles of frugal innovation and meeting relevant sustainability goals.Design/methodology/approachThe authors followed a design thinking approach, employing tools such as empathy mapping, customer journey, value proposition and semi-structured interviews to obtain a deep level of understanding of the problems educators and students within the context of entrepreneurship education are facing. Throughout the process they drew on the practice of emergent inquiry and customer co-creation to help guide decision making.FindingsThe authors successfully derived a conceptual solution in the form of a Minimum Viable Product of which the features were tested against the multitude of user needs and requirements. It was possible to demonstrate how the solution meets all nine of the requirements for frugal innovations while simultaneously adhering to applicable sustainability principles.Practical implicationsThe proposed solution offers a potential opportunity to first-movers in chosen academic disciplines to become leaders in online education.Originality/valueEven in an industry such as higher education there is a dire need for frugality and finding sustainable solutions for educators and students in both developed and developing markets. With this paper the authors succeed in presenting innovative combinations of digital artefacts, platforms and infrastructure to arrive at a novel crowd-sourced solution that is unique in its design.

Design thinking capabilities in the digital world: A bibliometric analysis of emerging trends

“…Accordingly, there is an opportunity to use DT with digital technologies to empower teachers and students with 21st-century skills and to solve relevant societal problems (Pitkänen and Andersen, 2018;Taimur and Onuki, 2022). DT, together with digital tools, provides a potential for more dynamic, immersive, and connected learning (Earle and Leyva-de la Hiz, 2021;Gleason and Cherrez, 2021;de Waal and Maritz, 2022).…”

“…Relatedly, the cluster contains an essential paper by Liedtka (2020) which theorises the role of DT as a technology facilitator and as a kind of social technology, a perspective which acknowledges innovation as a "shared process and ties it to human emotions and the complex ways people intersect and solutions emerge" (p. 54). The cluster also includes several papers on how DT can aid in reaching sustainability goals (e.g., de Waal and Maritz, 2022;Santa-Maria et al, 2022).…”

“…They can also tackle wicked problems associated with sustainability, medical care or accelerating digital growth (Earle and Leyva-de la Hiz, 2021;Thakur et al, 2021). Within this, DT is increasingly taught with and through digital technology, including digital platforms and more immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality (e.g., Earle and Leyva-de la Hiz, 2021;de Waal and Maritz, 2022). According to Tsai et al (2013), digital technologies have the potential to foster DT epistemology and facilitate collaborative knowledge creation and juxtapositions of ideas via technological affordances.…”

“…Researchers see DT as valuable for dealing with ill-defined and wicked problems of digital transformations due to its ability to explore and act upon the opportunities of digital technologies by considering human needs and actively engaging them in the processes (Verganti et al, 2020;Magistretti et al, 2021b). In educational contexts, there is a potential for creating immersive learning experiences and experiential DT practices for solving relevant societal problems (Earle and Leyva-de la Hiz, 2021;de Waal and Maritz, 2022). Nevertheless, despite the conceptual and empirical appeal of utilising DT practices in this context, existing publications represent individual contributions and do not provide the trends in their entirety.…”

The role of age and business coaching in the relationship of lean startup approach and innovative work behavior of women entrepreneurs during COVID-19

“…Innovative work behavior, on the other hand, would promote creativity in the workplace by leveraging collaboration to formulate and implement creativity interventions ( Pratoom and Savatsomboon, 2012 ). Considering innovative job activity, typically starts from solutions that stem from seeing possibilities and challenges that need to be addressed ( de Waal and Maritz, 2022 ). Exploring solutions entails searching for innovative approaches or devising new methods for producing similar goods and services more efficiently ( Durana et al, 2021b ).…”