Vak: Innovation WorkPlace Project credits: 10

Introduction  

The IWP (Innovation workplace project) is a project that focuses on bringing students together one last time before graduation, to work on an open challenge related to games, play, playful design, or new technology.  The student will answer a question, opportunity, and/or design challenge in the context of innovation, interactivity, and technology. The project implies a design-oriented research cycle using the double diamond model and the foundation will be formed by input from the client, researchers, target audience, coaches, and experts. The aim is to involve the stakeholders, work within a team, and be open to getting to know new contexts and domains while exploring and learning to understand other roles and interests.   

In addition, students need to look and find a client for their graduation project and timely prepare everything that is needed. A graduation boot camp will be held during week 6.  

What to expect?  

• Experiment, explore, conceptualize, prototype, and evaluate coming up with a product/solution while developing a professional, inquisitive, and enterprising attitude!  
• Deal with an open challenge related to games, play, playful design, or new technology in the context of innovation, interactivity, and technology.  
• Be ready to explore and immerse in a new or unknown context!  
• Work with a client, a coach, and a team assigned to you.  
• Cocreate and involve others: students, researchers, clients, stakeholders, experts, and users.  
• Professionalism. Communication, planning, deliverables, etc. You are in charge, define priorities and timely communicate to the company and stakeholders in every part of the process.   
• Orientation and preparation for the graduation assignment.  
• Shaping the future. Many possibilities could unfold from the student–company relationship, including becoming partners of the company/client.  
• Use the double diamond model to plan and deliver.  
• The deliverables are not set by us, are set up by you based on the above.   
• Freedom to make this project your own process, take your own decisions and assume responsibility.  
• Discover, explore, and of course have fun again while coming up with a solution/prototype.   

The assignment will be delivered in the form of a development portfolio.  

The journey  

To start defining the professional world you need to start being part of that world; work with clients, involve stakeholders, and prepare for graduation. The IWP focus is to prepare you in this journey, being a project focused on explore, cocreate and deliver, while being a preparation for the graduation assignment.  

How?  

• Teamwork  
• Planning  
• Using the double diamond model  
• Coaching sessions   
• Cocreation  
• Showing progress and professionalism  
• Finding a client for your graduation project and submitting the documentation needed (Block 1, Week 6)  
• Delivering a Portfolio   

Define your path!  

Year 4 is about defining your professional world. The IWP is an opportunity to start doing it, defining your journey means using everything you have learned! This time, you are in charge, you need to work on that proposal considering the double diamond model, the goal of the project, time frame, etc. What research do you need? When will you deliver the first prototype? Testing? Iterations? Delivery? Value capturing? Roadmap? And for sure, more questions will come depending on the project.