UC Berkeley Sutardja Center’s Summer Entrepreneurship Program Evaluates Participants’ Learning Effectiveness with VISITS Technologies’ Design Thinking Test
The Design Thinking Test from VISITS Technologies (Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Masaru Matsumoto, hereinafter referred to as “VISITS”) was recently introduced to students at UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET) to measure the impact of the university’s summer entrepreneurship program on participants’ design thinking skills.
The Design Thinking Test is a tool that objectively scores an individual’s creative ability, that is, the ability to discover essential issues and create solutions. Until now this has been difficult to measure quantitatively, given the demand for value-creating human resources who can create new value even in times of rapid change. This is the first tool that has succeeded in objectively scoring an individual’s creativity.
“What is UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology?
The Sutardja Center is one of the leading centers for technology entrepreneurship education in the US. In addition to teaching 40+ courses on entrepreneurship and innovation topics, the Center sponsors a unique, intensive two-month entrepreneurship program during the summer designed primarily for undergraduate and graduate students at UC Berkeley. The program attempts to teach the skills necessary to take the first steps toward becoming an entrepreneur, with a specific emphasis on developing an entrepreneurial mindset and design thinking.
Outline of Implementation
The Design Thinking Test was conducted before and after the program in order to measure the effect of teaching and fostering design thinking skills among students participating in a two-month entrepreneurship development program at UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center.
Implementation Results
We were able to see a marked difference in the 32 examinees before and after the program. Overall, the average design thinking score increased by 7%, and the percentage of top scorers increased from 25.7% at the beginning of the program to 40.1% at the end. The number of ideas generated increased by an average of 20%. At the end of the program, some of the top students doubled their number of ideas, while others scored higher due to improved quality of ideas despite a slight decrease in the number of ideas.
Comments from Ken Singer, Managing Director of UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center
“We used the Design Thinking Test as part of our curriculum to quantify and benchmark our undergraduate and graduate students that are studying Design Thinking principles as part of their introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship. The Design Thinking Test from VISITS is unique in its design and it proved to be a useful tool to provide quantifiable feedback on the improvement across students as they absorbed and internalized the principles of design thinking.”
▼Infographic comparing the percentage of top scorers before and after taking the exam
What is the “Design Thinking Test”?
Using a patented algorithm, the Design Thinking test discovers human resources who can “discover essential issues and come up with solutions”. In other words, human resources with the mindset and skills that are essential for future business people, which could not be visualized until now. Repeatedly taking the test makes it possible to train and develop design thinking skills. The technology has already been used by more than 200 companies, including major general trading companies, consulting firms, and major electronics manufacturers.
More than 110,000 people have participated in various sessions using this technology, and has been implemented by various companies and academic institutions, including this initiative. VISITS is committed to developing and expanding its products to support the acceleration of innovation and DX in Japan.
The Design Thinking Test from VISITS Technologies (Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Masaru Matsumoto, hereinafter referred to as “VISITS”) was recently introduced to students at UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET) to measure the impact of the university’s summer entrepreneurship program on participants’ design thinking skills.
The Design Thinking Test is a tool that objectively scores an individual’s creative ability, that is, the ability to discover essential issues and create solutions. Until now this has been difficult to measure quantitatively, given the demand for value-creating human resources who can create new value even in times of rapid change. This is the first tool that has succeeded in objectively scoring an individual’s creativity.
“What is UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology?
The Sutardja Center is one of the leading centers for technology entrepreneurship education in the US. In addition to teaching 40+ courses on entrepreneurship and innovation topics, the Center sponsors a unique, intensive two-month entrepreneurship program during the summer designed primarily for undergraduate and graduate students at UC Berkeley. The program attempts to teach the skills necessary to take the first steps toward becoming an entrepreneur, with a specific emphasis on developing an entrepreneurial mindset and design thinking.
Outline of Implementation
The Design Thinking Test was conducted before and after the program in order to measure the effect of teaching and fostering design thinking skills among students participating in a two-month entrepreneurship development program at UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center.
Implementation Results
We were able to see a marked difference in the 32 examinees before and after the program. Overall, the average design thinking score increased by 7%, and the percentage of top scorers increased from 25.7% at the beginning of the program to 40.1% at the end. The number of ideas generated increased by an average of 20%. At the end of the program, some of the top students doubled their number of ideas, while others scored higher due to improved quality of ideas despite a slight decrease in the number of ideas.
Comments from Ken Singer, Managing Director of UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center
“We used the Design Thinking Test as part of our curriculum to quantify and benchmark our undergraduate and graduate students that are studying Design Thinking principles as part of their introduction to innovation and entrepreneurship. The Design Thinking Test from VISITS is unique in its design and it proved to be a useful tool to provide quantifiable feedback on the improvement across students as they absorbed and internalized the principles of design thinking.”
▼Infographic comparing the percentage of top scorers before and after taking the exam
What is the “Design Thinking Test”?
Using a patented algorithm, the Design Thinking test discovers human resources who can “discover essential issues and come up with solutions”. In other words, human resources with the mindset and skills that are essential for future business people, which could not be visualized until now. Repeatedly taking the test makes it possible to train and develop design thinking skills. The technology has already been used by more than 200 companies, including major general trading companies, consulting firms, and major electronics manufacturers.
Website: https://design-thinking-test.com/
More than 110,000 people have participated in various sessions using this technology, and has been implemented by various companies and academic institutions, including this initiative. VISITS is committed to developing and expanding its products to support the acceleration of innovation and DX in Japan.