Freedom of Mobility to Pursue Your Dreams
From May 19 to 21, Ford China held the second stop of its Ford UCAN Innovation Camp in collaboration with Fablab Shanghai from Tongji University’s School of Design and Innovation.
The event was attended by 44 students representing 28 majors from across 12 universities, who gathered at Tongji University in Shanghai to explore design innovation thinking under the guidance of 8 mentors. Together, the students and mentors worked in groups to design mobility solutions, applying innovation thinking practices to enhance individual and team creativity.
On the first day, three special guests kicked off the event with an opening ceremony, where they established a welcoming and inclusive space for participants to feel relaxed and open for the experience and learning process.
Ding Junfeng, associate professor at Tongji University’s School of Design, tutor and the founder and director of Fablab O, presented AI-generated versions of himself at the opening ceremony, welcoming all students and teachers and encouraging the students to break outside of the box and be proactive about ushering in innovation. Wang Wenxi, Ford China Design Thinking Catalyst Lead, shared innovation case studies from inside the company and expanded participants' understanding of the application of design thinking. Michael Shen, Senior Manager of Product Strategy at Ford, discussed innovative solutions to public mobility needs, guiding participants to view challenges from different perspectives and explore peoples’ real-life travel needs.
On the second day, Lin Zhe, Director of the NPi Public Welfare Project and a design thinking tutor, discussed the 5-step method of design thinking innovation, using consumer interviews to deliver insights, strengthen the students’ understanding of the real needs of users, and cultivate models and tools for design thinking – skills that will benefit them in the workplace and in life as they become better innovators and problem solvers.
With close guidance from the mentors, after 48 hours of project iteration that took the students from the "0" ideation phase to the "1" project solution stage, the students applied design innovation thinking to reach the final project phase together.
-
Design Thinking Workshop at Tongji University
-
|Design Thinking Workshop at Tongji University
-
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
| -
|
On May 21, after 48 hours of research, theme definition, brainstorming, prototyping and testing, 8 innovative solutions were produced by the students, targeted for the following user groups: novice drivers, road trip enthusiasts, families with children, working professionals, Gen Z consumers, ride-hailing car owners, elderly car owners, families with pets and other users. Each solution was tailored according to the specific needs of each user group, to improve the overall mobility experience of various users.
23 Ford China volunteered their time, participating through online interviews, on-site sharing, road show reviews and other ways to mentor the students, bringing their diverse and professional perspectives and suggestions to the participants to help make their creative designs more complete and practical.
After the event, one participating student said, "What impressed me most from this activity is that everyone, whether extroverted or not, really 'raised their voice' and 'actively communicated'. This event mobilized every brain cell to think, stimulating us to think about whether it is possible to optimize mobility even more, put forward suggestions for targeted groups, while humbly accepting others' suggestions and learning how to constantly improve our ideas."
First Prize Winning Team
So far, the 2023 Ford UCAN Innovation Camp has been successfully held at Communication University of China in Beijing and Tongji University in Shanghai. Next, it will go to Nanjing and Chongqing to bring more university students the framework and practice of design innovation methodology, which will help them solve problems with innovative thinking and, in turn, help create a better world for all.
Ford UCAN Innovation Camp is a public welfare project initiated by Ford China. Through a team co-creation approach, student participants are able to carry out these practices and improve their ability to implement design innovation.