Integrating Design Sprints into Advanced Design Thinking Education

I n an increasingly dynamic professional landscape, the demand for graduates equipped with agile problem-solving skills and practical innovation experience is paramount.Traditional academic settings, while strong in theoretical foundations, sometimes struggle to replicate the fast-paced, iterative environments prevalent in industry.This challenge was particularly evident in The University of Texas' Advanced Design Thinking Studio course, where students frequently underutilized unmoderated lab sessions, leading to stalled project progress, increased stress, and diminished learning opportunities.As an IBM professional concurrently teaching at The University of Texas, I recognized the critical need to bridge this gap, leveraging industry best practices to enhance the student learning experience.This paper outlines the "Fast-Track Innovation: Design Sprint Project," an initiative funded by the Center for Teaching and Learning's Teaching Innovation Grant for the 2024-2025 academic year.Grounded in the principle of relevance to disciplinary thinking, the project's primary goal was to integrate an industry-aligned "design sprint" framework into the curriculum.This aimed to simulate realworld innovation cycles within a compressed timeframe, thereby enhancing student engagement, fostering critical thinking, and better preparing students for the exigencies of professional design challenges.