Andrew Valenzuela 

 Final Assignment Submission for Design Thinking for Innovation Course 

 My challenge relates to advancing education in Mexico . In short , there is a big gap currently in the   Mexican education market when it comes to development of soft skills for people aged 17 - 22 .   Research has shown that companies are looking for a great level of soft skills in graduates when   hiring them out of university . Thinking more deeply about the problem , and from speaking with   business owners , students and academics , the “ what is ” of the problem is clearly that universities   are not developing these soft skills . Instead , most universities still focus on academic skills   development . The kind of soft skills lacking are problem solving , innovation , creativity , negotiation   and initiative , amongst others . Thus , a gap exists to solve this soft - skills shortage in Mexico . How this   gap will be filled requires a mode of thinking that is outside of the current paradigm . Personally , I   think this is necessary to break from the traditional mode of thinking that proliferates the   educational system here and in many other countries . 

 My choice of tool to look at this problem is Storytelling . For me , it is a valuable tool because it will   aid in helping create a vision that differs from the current reality . The lecture in week 2 mentioned   how every great brand has a story that links it to an emotion . Moreover , another Coursera course   from the University of Colombia , relating to the future of education , states that traditional ways of   thinking about the future of education very limited . In other words , people largely have one - track   minds and are decided that the future of all education is technology . The result is that people   become narrow minded and are unlikely to shift their thinking and develop innovative ideas . This   lack of vision has inspired my choice of Storytelling . To solve my problem related to Mexican   education , it is necessary to use Storytelling ’s ability to create a cause . Inspiring people and leading   people towards the possibility of breaking from the traditional mould is something that can help   solve the problem that exists . Breaking the status quo will be difficult , because I feel that the kind of   audience that the story will be told to ( e.g. academics , teachers , business owners , and university   deans ) are going to be rather reticent to hear something different . Therefore , how it will be applied   will be very important . 

 The application of this tool to the problem will rely on really highlighting what the core of this   problem is . The reality is that universities are not providing what they either claim they are . On the   flip side , some simply do not even claim to do work on soft skills . This message is central to the story ,   however , simply going and telling someone a story of how they are wrong is likely to be met with   hostility . I believe it is therefore necessary to tell the story in a way that gets buy - in from these   stakeholders . In other words , the story needs to make these people part of the solution and to   empower them as design thinkers themselves . Building on the suggestion of the lecture , this is a   process of getting them into a mind - set that makes the cause worth fighting for . To give an example ,   in Mexico there is quite a rigid social hierarchy in which in business it can be risky to question ones   superiors . The academic system is not very flexible and titles can bring with them great power , even   if the titleholder does not possess the knowledge , ideas or expertise to tackle everyday problems .   The consequence of this for applying design thinking , a concept that many academics would   consider radical , is that the story told would need to be told in such a way that it empowers these   people , rather than alienates them . 

 Until now , I have not been able to enter and tell the story at the highest level , i.e. to the businesses   and the academics .   However , on a different level I have already started building a vision amongst   peers to create the need for change . My work brings me into contact will all range of academics and   professionals in education . Two close contacts of mine are social entrepreneurs and already have 

 businesses established that work on generating change in Mexico ’s education system . Just last week ,   I met with both to tell them my story about ‘ what is ’ the current situation in Mexico . At the same   time , I got the opportunity to take on board their feedback and use this to adjust any of my potential   misconceptions . Moreover , I got them to connect with the vision of change I had , and used this to   generate more ideas about potential ways in which to focus the solution more on the people it is   trying to help . The storytelling tool was important here , because it resonated with feelings that they   had , and I realised how it aligns with their own stories . Thus , I think one of the real benefits of   applying this tool was the ability to find consensus and a common cause . However , as mentioned in   the course , a common cause will not be enough to generate the change . The real proof of the story   telling tool ’s power will be when we use it to go to a higher level . 

 The application of the tool has taught me valuable lessons about bringing people together . It has   shown me there is a good way in which to shape a vision and connect to a process that can generate   change . I have no doubt that this will help in inspiring people to focus on the needs of the   community and to help make the new product something that really will add value to Mexican   students and academics . 

 If I could do something different , I guess it would be to think more about the story before asking /   telling others . While input from others is important , I believe there could be value in really   developing my own story first . By doing this , I feel more capable of leading from the front . More   than anything , I think next time I would like to actually try using some of the other tools . Mind   mapping would be a great supplemental tool that would allow me to work with others to device a   people - centred solution . Later on , I can also see a good opportunity to have a learning launch . The   ideas I have are early ideas and need development , thus trying out things and seeing what could be   learnt will be useful . 

 To conclude , this was a valuable learning experience . The tool is extremely powerful , and this is   obvious in the number of people using this today . Only the other day I saw the head of Starbucks   selling the power of storytelling . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Andrew Valenzuela
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Andrew Valenzuela 

 Final Assignment Submission for Design Thinking for Innovation Course 

 My challenge relates to advancing education in Mexico . In short , there is a big gap currently in the   Mexican education market when it comes to development of soft skills for people aged 17 - 22 .   Research has shown that companies are looking for a great level of soft skills in graduates when   hiring them out of university . Thinking more deeply about the problem , and from speaking with   business owners , students and academics , the “ what is ” of the problem is clearly that universities   are not developing these soft skills . Instead , most universities still focus on academic skills   development . The kind of soft skills lacking are problem solving , innovation , creativity , negotiation   and initiative , amongst others . Thus , a gap exists to solve this soft - skills shortage in Mexico . How this   gap will be filled requires a mode of thinking that is outside of the current paradigm . Personally , I   think this is necessary to break from the traditional mode of thinking that proliferates the   educational system here and in many other countries . 

 My choice of tool to look at this problem is Storytelling . For me , it is a valuable tool because it will   aid in helping create a vision that differs from the current reality . The lecture in week 2 mentioned   how every great brand has a story that links it to an emotion . Moreover , another Coursera course   from the University of Colombia , relating to the future of education , states that traditional ways of   thinking about the future of education very limited . In other words , people largely have one - track   minds and are decided that the future of all education is technology . The result is that people   become narrow minded and are unlikely to shift their thinking and develop innovative ideas . This   lack of vision has inspired my choice of Storytelling . To solve my problem related to Mexican   education , it is necessary to use Storytelling ’s ability to create a cause . Inspiring people and leading   people towards the possibility of breaking from the traditional mould is something that can help   solve the problem that exists . Breaking the status quo will be difficult , because I feel that the kind of   audience that the story will be told to ( e.g. academics , teachers , business owners , and university   deans ) are going to be rather reticent to hear something different . Therefore , how it will be applied   will be very important . 

 The application of this tool to the problem will rely on really highlighting what the core of this   problem is . The reality is that universities are not providing what they either claim they are . On the   flip side , some simply do not even claim to do work on soft skills . This message is central to the story ,   however , simply going and telling someone a story of how they are wrong is likely to be met with   hostility . I believe it is therefore necessary to tell the story in a way that gets buy - in from these   stakeholders . In other words , the story needs to make these people part of the solution and to   empower them as design thinkers themselves . Building on the suggestion of the lecture , this is a   process of getting them into a mind - set that makes the cause worth fighting for . To give an example ,   in Mexico there is quite a rigid social hierarchy in which in business it can be risky to question ones   superiors . The academic system is not very flexible and titles can bring with them great power , even   if the titleholder does not possess the knowledge , ideas or expertise to tackle everyday problems .   The consequence of this for applying design thinking , a concept that many academics would   consider radical , is that the story told would need to be told in such a way that it empowers these   people , rather than alienates them . 

 Until now , I have not been able to enter and tell the story at the highest level , i.e. to the businesses   and the academics .   However , on a different level I have already started building a vision amongst   peers to create the need for change . My work brings me into contact will all range of academics and   professionals in education . Two close contacts of mine are social entrepreneurs and already have 

 businesses established that work on generating change in Mexico ’s education system . Just last week ,   I met with both to tell them my story about ‘ what is ’ the current situation in Mexico . At the same   time , I got the opportunity to take on board their feedback and use this to adjust any of my potential   misconceptions . Moreover , I got them to connect with the vision of change I had , and used this to   generate more ideas about potential ways in which to focus the solution more on the people it is   trying to help . The storytelling tool was important here , because it resonated with feelings that they   had , and I realised how it aligns with their own stories . Thus , I think one of the real benefits of   applying this tool was the ability to find consensus and a common cause . However , as mentioned in   the course , a common cause will not be enough to generate the change . The real proof of the story   telling tool ’s power will be when we use it to go to a higher level . 

 The application of the tool has taught me valuable lessons about bringing people together . It has   shown me there is a good way in which to shape a vision and connect to a process that can generate   change . I have no doubt that this will help in inspiring people to focus on the needs of the   community and to help make the new product something that really will add value to Mexican   students and academics . 

 If I could do something different , I guess it would be to think more about the story before asking /   telling others . While input from others is important , I believe there could be value in really   developing my own story first . By doing this , I feel more capable of leading from the front . More   than anything , I think next time I would like to actually try using some of the other tools . Mind   mapping would be a great supplemental tool that would allow me to work with others to device a   people - centred solution . Later on , I can also see a good opportunity to have a learning launch . The   ideas I have are early ideas and need development , thus trying out things and seeing what could be   learnt will be useful . 

 To conclude , this was a valuable learning experience . The tool is extremely powerful , and this is   obvious in the number of people using this today . Only the other day I saw the head of Starbucks   selling the power of storytelling .
### Output: 