FST 298 Design Thinking for Food is a groundbreaking, multidisciplinary course at the University of California, Davis that seeks to train the next generation of food system innovators to integrate social and technical approaches to addressing complex food system challenges by using the tools of Design Thinking and drawing on the insights of Food Studies.
Design Thinking is an approach to innovation that takes technical feasibility and business viability seriously, but its unique strengths come from its insistence on centering the experience of people, including users, collaborators and stakeholders. Food studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that is sensitive to the systems, structures, values and beliefs that shape eating habits and the food system. Together these ways of thinking (food studies) and doing (design thinking) provide a path to food system innovation that is shaped – from the very questions being asked, to the interventions proposed and the way they are communicated – by the real concerns and experiences of the humans whose behaviors will ultimately determine whether the those innovations are taken up, thereby becoming solutions, or not.
Students in Design Thinking for Food work in richly interdisciplinary teams, learning the skills of cross-disciplinary collaboration as they engage with stakeholders to address high impact food system challenges. The first two years the class focused on the challenge reducing food waste in dining services and involved a partnership with university dining services. In 2018 the class will focus on addressing food insecurity on campus.
You can find a past syllabus, which includes learning outcomes and the course schedule, here.
CLICK HERE to apply to be a part of this course in Fall 2018.
Design Thinking is an approach to innovation that takes technical feasibility and business viability seriously, but its unique strengths come from its insistence on centering the experience of people, including users, collaborators and stakeholders. Food studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that is sensitive to the systems, structures, values and beliefs that shape eating habits and the food system. Together these ways of thinking (food studies) and doing (design thinking) provide a path to food system innovation that is shaped – from the very questions being asked, to the interventions proposed and the way they are communicated – by the real concerns and experiences of the humans whose behaviors will ultimately determine whether the those innovations are taken up, thereby becoming solutions, or not.
Students in Design Thinking for Food work in richly interdisciplinary teams, learning the skills of cross-disciplinary collaboration as they engage with stakeholders to address high impact food system challenges. The first two years the class focused on the challenge reducing food waste in dining services and involved a partnership with university dining services. In 2018 the class will focus on addressing food insecurity on campus.
You can find a past syllabus, which includes learning outcomes and the course schedule, here.
CLICK HERE to apply to be a part of this course in Fall 2018.
Student Testimonials
"I really feel like this class was effective in developing my creative confidence, the goal that Lauren had set out at the very beginning. Part of this process was learning that creativity and innovation can take a lot of different forms, and this didn't have to be product design, but could be more of a systems change, which really was at the heart of our project." "The most surprising insights about food waste for me came from the human-centered research we did." |
"The most important skill I got out of the class was the ability to listen and integrate ideas outside of my field of study to my daily work." "The best experience was going through the design thinking process -- I think that will be very useful to me later on." |
"It taught me how powerful and important storytelling can be to shift the mindset of those who may oppose the product ideas." "Conducting design research interviews with a multitude of individuals was the most important experience I gained from the course because it reveals extremely diverse viewpoints about the causes of food waste." |
