The workshop, organized in collaboration with lecturers from the DAN Department of Creative Human Design at the Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College (JMC), offered a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical exercises. Participants brought specific challenges from their teaching and research practices, which allowed them to immediately engage in the practical portion of the program.
The program began with a presentation featuring examples from a joint course offered by the Faculty of Agronomy at MENDELU and JMC, led on behalf of the Faculty by Milada Šťastná, Head of the Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, and on behalf of JMC by Yoram Pony. This course links ecological issues with industrial design and demonstrates that the principles of design thinking can be successfully applied in online, interdisciplinary teaching. The lecture was followed by an intensive practical session in which participants identified problems, generated ideas, and focused on asking the right questions to more precisely define the challenges that can be addressed through design thinking.
The active involvement of all participants significantly contributed to an open and inspiring working atmosphere. The practical focus of the workshop allowed for immediate verification of the benefits of design thinking methods in addressing real-world situations that both faculty and students encounter. “I really enjoyed the workshop and consider it a great success. It was a pleasure to meet the participants, share ideas, and engage in stimulating and meaningful discussions throughout the day,” summarized instructor Harel Oberman.
The participants agreed that cooperation between Mendel University and Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College should be further developed. “We have observed strong interest in further developing joint activities and systematically applying agile approaches, particularly in the areas of student support and teaching innovation. At the same time, there was a call for follow-up workshops and deeper cooperation in the area of design thinking, which can help turn solutions to specific problems into innovations or the creation of startups and spin-offs,” said Michaela Menšíková, the workshop organizer from the Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology at MENDELU.
The workshop thus confirmed the importance of international cooperation and modern teaching methods, which contribute to the development of creative and systems thinking as well as to strengthening students’ practical skills.