Program Format
The Health by Design certificate program is comprised of 5 live digital workshops that will guide you through the stages of a design process. Workshops will take place online on bi-weekly Thursdays from January 18 – March 21, 2024.
In between these workshops, 4 optional live studio sessions will offer space for you to work on assignments in groups, ask questions, and brainstorm.
Preliminary readings and videos will be available before the program begins to introduce the learning platform and program goals.
Program Schedule
- Immersion and Design Research: Thursday, January 18 (12 – 2 pm ET)
Get oriented to health design mindsets and assess your own creativity and innovation starting point. Reflect on ways you want to grow your design muscle. Launch into the course project challenge and start to build empathy for real end-users using powerful ethnography tools. - Studio Session: Thursday, January 25 (12 – 2 pm ET)
A space for you to work on assignments in groups, ask questions, and brainstorm. - Sensemaking and Data Synthesis: Thursday, February 1 (12 – 2 pm ET)
Explore how to make reasoned, interpretive leaps from your research data. Use journey maps to help imagine the present experience of a persona and then pinpoint identify a range of user needs. - Studio Session: Thursday, February 8 (12 – 2 pm ET)
A space for you to work on assignments in groups, ask questions, and brainstorm. - Creativity and Prototyping: Thursday, February 15 (12 – 2 pm ET)
Dive into ideation to imagine a range of novel ways of meeting an identified user need using structured brainstorming methods. Work with simple materials to create and share ideas. Develop your creative abilities and confidence. Prioritize ideas to discern promising solutions that are desirable and feasible. - Studio Session: Thursday, February 22 (12 – 2 pm ET)
A space for you to work on assignments in groups, ask questions, and brainstorm. - Learning in Action: Thursday, February 29 (12 – 2 pm ET)
Rapidly test your prototype in the field. Make sense of feedback from others to calibrate your understanding of the challenge and what solutions are needed. Reframe, recreate, and remix your work to refine your idea. Reflect on what you hope to learn from testing the next version with others. - Studio Session: Thursday, March 7 (12 – 2 pm ET)
A space for you to work on assignments in groups, ask questions, and brainstorm. - Project Pitch: Thursday, March 21 (12 – 2 pm ET)
Share your ideas with your peers and a group of healthcare leaders and health designers. Get inspired about the potential for making change through health design thinking and overcoming barriers. Reassess your own creativity and innovation. Reflect on how you will continue to grow your design abilities beyond the course.
Studio Sessions Information
The studio sessions can be envisioned as online design studios — space where participants can interact with each other and with faculty. Apply new skills and knowledge through guided activities and work on assignments in small groups during semi-structured time. The studio sessions provide opportunity for mentorship in health design and dedicated time to collaborate with colleagues. While not mandatory, we strongly encourage learners to attend and make the most of the 4 sessions to brainstorm, explore ideas, and approach your work in new ways.