I think that it is not only very easy for us as business students to find the space in a project to dream big. All those ever present toolbox lessons from our first two years of bcomm weigh heavily: questioning feasibility, productivity, relevance, practicality and revenue streams. While I have to of course admit that all those things are important, I just don’t think that holding on to those things will actually allow us to be good business people.
I think the focus of a bcomm instead should be to develop top notch dreamers. Students who can envision projects in great scope, push boundaries and create amazing, innovative ideas and companies that will change the world. I think in this dream alone, teaching design thinking to every commerce student is of utmost importance, however, it goes beyond just teaching it. I really believe that we should be forced to apply the rules of it to come up with projects that hold great vision and importance in idea in every class we take.
Of course I don’t know the answer to how we can create this idealized academic setting, but I think having conversations to push the way we learn at Sauder need to happen. There are so many smart and innovative thinkers in commerce, but eventually ideas and innovation get squashed between endless midterms, lengthy group projects, and time consuming assignments. Somehow a balance needs to be struck between measuring students’ ability and fostering an environment in which they can actually learn.
For me, DStudio has started this conversation and I think that there is great opportunity to continue it.